Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: ubcbotanyphotooftheday

This is the attractive flower of Campion, Silene pratensis. It's an introduced (non-native) plant and is a weed. We found it when we went for a walk in the Sikome area of Fish Creek Park yesterday morning. "White cockle is thought to have been introduced to North America from Europe in the early nineteeth century through contaminated crop seeds. It is now widespread in the northern United States and southern Canada. However, only Washington lists Silene latifolia subsp. alba as a noxious weed. Like many introduced species, it can be found on roadsides and other disturbed areas, but it is also cultivated as an ornamental flower. It is worth noting that Silene latifolia subsp. alba has been the subject of several taxonomic disputes and has consequently gained a number of scientific names, including Lychnis alba, Silene alba, and Silene pratensis. The name Silene probably comes from the Greek sialon, meaning "saliva". This term is also related to Bacchus' perpetually intoxicated tutor, Silenus, said to often be covered with foam -- much like the secretions found on many members of the pink family." This information was provided below my photo on the UBC (University of British Columbia) Botany Photo of the Day website.

Saw this Castor Bean plant growing outside at the Calgary Zoo on 1st October. "The castor bean plant, Ricinus communis, is a "native of tropical Africa cultivated in several varieties for the oil found in its leaves and for its bold foliage."(Alber and Alber) The "stalked leaves consist of usually eight radiating, pointed leaflets with slightly serrated edges and prominent central veins. Many varieties are green, but some are reddish brown."(Cooper and Johnson) The flowers are green and inconspicuous, but pink or red in the pigmented varieties. Many stamens are near the base and branching pistils are near the top of the flower. The soft-spined fruits containing attractively mottled seeds are distinctive features of the plant. It is grown as an ornamental in gardens, sometimes as a houseplant, and also grows as a weed. It is an annual in the south and a perennial in the tropics, and it may reach "15 feet tall outdoors". It is a woody herb belonging to the family of Euphorbiacea (Spurge). The seeds from the castor bean plant, Ricinus communis, are poisonous to people, animals and insects. Castor beans are pressed to extract castor oil which is used for medicinal purposes." From www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/castorbean .

I was told about this unusual plant that is growing in the Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo, so this was the main reason I went to the Zoo today. This hanging stem of flowers is about three feet long and just beautiful. I had to use flash inside the Conservatory, which has made the flower colour slightly more vivid than it actually is. "The jade vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys) is a native of the tropical forests of the Philippines. Its flowers are the color of jade, and hang in bunches up to 90 cm long; each clawlike flower is about 7½ cm long. In its native Philippines, the jade vine's flowers are pollinated by bats. S. macrobotrys is prized in tropical and subtropical gardens for its showy flowers which are a highly unusual blue-green. It is usually grown over a pergola so that the flowers may hang down below where they can be seen easily. In South Africa the jade vine is mainly restricted to the warm humid strip of coastal Natal but grows in a few frost-free spots inland." From Wikipedia.

Two days later, I am STILL on a natural high after seeing these gorgeous, wild Yellow Pondlilies for the very first time. We spent a full day on Thursday botanizing the Bentz Lake Natural Area, north of Calgary and west of Sundre, and these Yellow Pondlilies were growing near the edge of the lake. To get to them from the forest where we were exploring, we had to make our way through a very watery bog, LOL. Apart from one small mishap that left one friend soaked to his upper thighs, we managed it with only soaking wet feet. This native, aquatic member of the Water-lily family grows in lakes and ponds June to August. The yellow flower is 4-7 cm across, has 6 yellow, petal-like sepals and several small, inconspicuous petals. Today, I was out with five friends, exploring and botanizing (recording all flora and fauna seen) the forest of Bragg Creek Provincial Park, west of Calgary. A perfect day weatherwise as well as far as enjoyment and sightings were concerned. Lots of mushrooms - though no brilliant red ones today, LOL!

Though this plant is invasive and is pulled from time to time, it is still an attractive plant, with its hooked burrs and its unusual purple and white flowers. This particular plant was growing near the edge of the old Beaver pond in Shaw's Meadow.

One of our small group found this wonderfully unusual fungus on our walk this morning. I had longed to see one of these for ages, so this was a real treat. It was too dark to get decent photos deep in the woods, and this specimen is far from perfect. However, it is such a fascinating fungus. "The Earth Star is a striking soil fungus, so named because the outer wall of the spore-bearing body splits open into a star. One metaphor refers to the rays standing on their tips, like a ballet dancer standing on their toes. Like other earthstars, the outer, leathery wall (peridium) splits open into the rays of a star, but the rays fold down into "legs" that support the spherical spore case that sits on a short stalk or pedicel. The rays are firmly attached to a clump of mycelium and leaf debris." From "The Amazing Fungi " website.

One of our small group found this wonderfully unusual fungus on our walk this morning. I had longed to see one of these for ages, so this was a real treat. It is such a fascinating fungus. "The Earth Star is a striking soil fungus, so named because the outer wall of the spore-bearing body splits open into a star. One metaphor refers to the rays standing on their tips, like a ballet dancer standing on their toes. Like other earthstars, the outer, leathery wall (peridium) splits open into the rays of a star, but the rays fold down into "legs" that support the spherical spore case that sits on a short stalk or pedicel. The rays are firmly attached to a clump of mycelium and leaf debris." From "The Amazing Fungi " website.

We saw this beautifully coloured plant at Pearce Estate yesterday afternoon. A garden escapee, so was growing in "the wild". The Garden Orache, or Mountain Spinach (Atriplex hortensis), is a tall, erect-growing hardy annual, a native of Tartary, introduced to this country. The quality of the spinach yielded by Orache is, however, far inferior to that of Common Spinach.

This member of the Grass family is a weedy natural annual. Really is quite elegant.