Published by Daniel Mosquin on February 15, 2017
In its native Australia, Alyxia ruscifolia is known by the common names chainfruit, prickly alyxia, native holly, and moonya. It is a shrubby member of the dogbane family, or Apocynaceae; the family also contains growth forms such as trees, climbers, scramblers, herbs, and stem succulents. Alyxia is a moderately-diverse genus, with 14 species in Australia, […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on September 8, 2015
Stapelia leendertziae has sapromyiophilous flowers–that is, its flowers are pollinated by flies. Sapromyiophilous flowers have evolved convergently in many families of flowering plants. They usually have large scent-emitting flowers that are coloured red or purple. These characteristics mimic the food and brood sites of carrion and dung flies. Johnson and Jürgens (2010) examined the scent […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on September 1, 2015
I think about plants a lot. I notice them as I walk outside and of course I spent half of my week during the summer photographing and writing about plants for Botany Photo of the Day. Despite this, there is only one species that I think about each and every day: Coffea arabica. I have […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on October 8, 2009
This stunning flower is borne from a decumbent succulent stem; the stem is often eaten as a vegetable in Ethiopia and Somalia. Native to northeastern Africa, it is also found in very localized areas of Kenya, Tanzania and Yemen. Edithcolea grandis is the only representative of its genus. Its natural distribution is becoming more restricted […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on July 22, 2007
The genus Matelea contains approximately one hundred and eighty species distributed in subtropical and tropical areas of the Americas.
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on March 8, 2007
The native distribution of blood flower or Mexican butterfly weed is not known. Wyatt and Broyles, in their June 1997 paper, “The Weedy Tropical Milkweeds Asclepias curassavica and A. fruticosa are Self-Compatible” (Biotropica, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 232-234) cite a 1954 reference (Woodson) that conjectures South America as the native range for this species, […]
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Published by Daniel Mosquin on January 31, 2006
Asclepias syriaca, or common milkweed, is widespread throughout eastern and central North America. It is often considered a weed due to its economic impact on crops and toxicity to livestock, but monarch caterpillars consider it otherwise (monarchs feed exclusively on Asclepias spp.).
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