The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia
Botany Photo of the Day
menu
Botanical Garden
  • Botany Photo of the Day
    • The Photographs
    • About
    • Team and Alumni
    • FAQs
    • Monthly Archives
    • Archives by Garden
  • More from UBC Botanical Garden
    • UBC Botanical Garden
    • Plant Advice Forums
    • Vancouver Trees App
    • Garden Blog
    • Contact

Narcissus bulbocodium

Published by Daniel Mosquin on April 10, 2005

Narcissus bulbocodium

Narcissus bulbocodium in UBC’s Alpine Garden

One of my favourite techniques for taking photographs of the low-growing plants in the E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden is getting on my hands and knees and propping the camera on the ground to take a photo from a small animal’s perspective.

Continue reading “Narcissus bulbocodium”

Read More | No Comments

Salix acutifolia ‘Blue Streak’

Published by Daniel Mosquin on April 9, 2005

Male catkin of <i>Salix acutifolia</i> 'Blue Streak'

Male catkin of Salix acutifolia ‘Blue Streak’

Keeping with the theme of subtle flowers, here’s a photo of a catkin from a male willow in the garden. Thanks to Andy Hill, one of UBC Botanical Garden’s horticulturists, for pointing out that I needed to take a photo of these catkins.

Willows are often difficult to identify, for a number of reasons: individual plants can be either male or female, the morphological features of the plants can vary with the environment it is growing in (phenotypic variation), the genetics of the plant or the growing stage, and species readily hybridize. In the case of this plant, the label was lost and we had to reidentify the plant. If we could have been certain that this species was from British Columbia, a reidentification would have been difficult, but not impossible. The diversity of willow species in British Columbia is high – 55 to 60 species in British Columbia, or 15% of the world’s different species (source: Classification of Salix in the New World).

However, at a botanical garden, our pool of potential suspects starts at the very beginning – with all of the species in the world. We can often narrow the field considerably by cross-referencing the plant’s location in the garden against our database, but if this doesn’t work for whatever reason, we’ve a challenge on our hands. During the course of our annual inventory week, we were able to determine the name of this plant.

More interested in willow flowers than in willow taxonomy? Check out this article on the biology of willow flowers from NatureNorth in Manitoba.

You can view my black and white version of this photo on the garden’s discussion forums.

Read More | 2 Comments

Decaisnea insignis

Published by Daniel Mosquin on April 8, 2005

<i>Decaisnea insignis</i> in early spring

Decaisnea insignis in early spring

This is the kind of photo that keeps me taking pictures. A sharp eye will note that the image is just a touch out-of-focus. It’s acceptable for the web, but not useful for a print, as it is clearly out-of-focus at its original size (roughly 15x the area of this one). I’m going to have to try again next year.

Continue reading “Decaisnea insignis”

Read More | 1 Comment

John Davidson

Published by Daniel Mosquin on April 7, 2005

John Davidson in Scotland

John Davidson in Scotland

This is a digitized scan of a hand-painted lantern slide, one of 1600 slides held by UBC Botanical Garden. All of the slides were once in the possession of the man in the photograph, “Botany John” Davidson.

Continue reading “John Davidson”

Read More | 9 Comments

Acer pictum subsp. okamotoanum

Published by Daniel Mosquin on April 6, 2005

Close-up of <i>Acer pictum</i> subsp. <i>okamotoanum</i> flowers

Close-up of Acer pictum subsp. okamotoanum flowers

Maple flowers. The buds measure just under five centimeters. One of the reasons I love macro photography is it forces me to examine plants for the beauty or subtleties that are often very easy to overlook.

Continue reading “Acer pictum subsp. okamotoanum”

Read More | 4 Comments

Melliodendron xylocarpum

Published by Daniel Mosquin on April 5, 2005

Melliodendron xylocarpum

Melliodendron xylocarpum blooming in UBC Botanical Garden in the spring.

Welcome to the first entry in UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research’s Botany Photo of the Day!

Continue reading “Melliodendron xylocarpum”

Read More | 7 Comments

  • Previous
  • 1
  • …
  • 389
  • 390

Botany Photo of the Day: In science, beauty. In beauty, science. Daily.

Subscribe!

We'll email you as new entries are posted!

Submitting a Photo

We currently accept photos submitted through a Flickr group, our garden forums, or email. Please see The Photographs for more details.

Forays

Some of our favourite sites!

  • Backyard Botanics
  • Botany One
  • Botany Professor
  • Deep Sea News
  • Dias com árvores (Days with Trees)
  • I Brake for Wildflowers!
  • In Defense of Plants
  • Kew Blogs

On This Day

  • Trifolium repens
    May 28, 2015
  • Doryopteris decipiens
    May 28, 2014
  • Godoya antioquiensis
    May 28, 2012
  • Lamium maculatum
    May 28, 2011
  • Tulipa 'Monsella'
    May 28, 2010
  • Mussaenda pubescens
    May 28, 2009
  • Pseudotrillium rivale
    May 28, 2008
  • Triteleia grandiflora
    May 28, 2007
  • Maianthemum purpureum
    May 28, 2006
  • Meconopsis betonicifolia
    May 28, 2005

Tags

Alberta Asparagaceae Asparagales Asteraceae Asterales Australia Brassicales British Columbia California Canada Caryophyllales Ericaceae Ericales Fabaceae Fabales Fungus Gentianales Iridaceae Lamiaceae Lamiales Liliaceae Liliales Magnoliaceae Magnoliales Malpighiales Manitoba Mexico Myrtales named by Linnaeus Oregon Photo by Daniel Pinaceae Poales Ranunculaceae Ranunculales Rosaceae Rosales Sapindaceae Sapindales UBC Botanical Garden USA via Email via Flickr via Forums Washington

Support UBC Botanical Garden's important work by donating today.

Donate

Get social with us

UBC Botanical Garden
6804 SW Marine Drive
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4
Tel 604 822 4208
Fax 604 822 2016
Website botanicalgarden.ubc.ca
Email garden.info@ubc.ca
Back to top
The University of British Columbia
About UBC Science | News and events
Dean's office | Leadership team | Departments | Research units and institutes | UBC Attractions
UBC Science
UBC Faculty of Science, Office of the Dean Earth Sciences Building, 2178-2207 Main Mall
Vancouver, British Columbia Canada V6T 1Z4
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility