A non-ephedrine Ephedra

Species name: Ephedra nevadensis

Common name: American ephedra

Location: UWO Greenhouse

This rather unassuming species is native to the deserts of North America, hence the Latin name (nevadensis should make you think of the US state Nevada). In a pot it grows to be a rather sad, straggly, sticky thing but in the wild it can be quite large, shrubby, and an important food source for many animals that live there. To me, this is one of the most fascinating plants in the greenhouse, right up there with whisk ferns (which don't look like ferns at all; you can read about them HERE). Ephedra, also sometimes called a gnetophyte depending on the species, is actually a closer relative to ginkgo trees (read about them HERE) and pine trees (read about white pine HERE) than flowering plants, or even club mosses (which it can look very similar to if you use your imagination). In the second image you can see some primitive cones if you look closely, and these are where the pollen and the ovules are produced to make new seeds. They are produced in the stem nodes, usually after new growth has appeared for that year. When a plant undergoes nodal growth, it will produce a bit of a branch and then once conditions are no longer favourable for growth it will produce a terminal bud. This bud will develop once conditions are favourable again and produce new growth and the bud scales will fall off, leaving a scar around the branch or stem which is called a node. This node is also where axial buds are produced, which end up growing into branches (or, in this case, cones).

North American ephedra has been used for centuries as a medicinal species by Native North Americans, and also as a food (although, I can't imagine it being very tasty or very nutritious). For farmers historically and currently in the southern United States desert areas, it is also a very important forage crop for cows, pigs, sheep, and goats.

Medicinally, this is not the same species as the psychoactive plant from which we get the drug ephedrine (but this is also a species of Ephedra, hence the name of the alkaloid). It was originally included in cold and flu medication because it is effective in drying mucous membranes (and so helping with your runny nose), soothing sore throats, and helping you sleep. There are other drugs that are now included in cold medication instead, because of the dirty little secret that ephedrine has. It causes a drastic increase in heart rate, which can have serious complications in some patients (especially those who already have high heart rate as a result of high blood pressure, or vice versa) and even death. In 2007 there was a huge spike in ephedra-related deaths in the United States, and so it was required by cold and flu medication manufacturers to remove products containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine off the shelves. High-performance athletes were also rumored to use ephedrine as a performance-enhancing drug. Recreationally, ephedrine is a precursor in the manufacture of methamphetamine, and so the sale of ephedrine-containing products was fuelling the underground (and illicit) drug market. There was the suggestion that because ephedrine was such an effective cold and flu medication that it should be a medication you need to request from a pharmacist (but could get without a prescription) in order to obtain, but that wouldn't necessarily stop the ease at which methamphetamine manufacturing labs could obtain it. It has also been used as a diet aid (along with other drugs like caffeine) because it increases body temperature and so should help burn more calories per hour when sedentary, but aside from being incredibly dangerous (death or severe illness requiring hospital stays have been reported in several hundred cases), it also doesn't actually do anything. Only a minor increase in fat burned over a placebo was ever recorded in scientific studies, and certainly not enough to warrant it being sold as a diet aid.

The Cardboard (non-palm) Cycad

Species name: Zamia furfuracea

Common name: cardboard cycad

Location: UWO Greenhouse

The cardboard cycad (also called the cardboard palm, but like with the sago palm it's not even remotely related to a true palm) is native to the Veracruz region in Mexico and was once a dominant species across much of the Caribbean region. Now, it is listed on the IUCN Red List as vulnerable, the category listing before becoming endangered. Due to habitat loss and climate change, this species will more than likely go extinct in the wild in the next few generations if an intense conservation effort is not started.

Unlike the last cycad that I featured on my blog, the sago cycad (which you can read all about HERE), the trunk of this species almost always grows underground. It could almost be called a rhizome, except it grows down from the Earth's surface as the rest of the plant grows upwards. If the cycad is grown in a pot like this one is, except for a dense, woody area at the soil surface there is no stem at all. Incredibly unusual, especially for a cycad! Another really neat feature about this plant is the direction of the leaflets in full sun versus in the shade. Like many other shade-tolerant species, the cardboard cycad is very sensitive to full sunlight and can get a sunburn very quickly. This species has evolved a mechanism to prevent sunburn by orienting its leaflets to minimize the surface area that comes in direct contact with sunlight. In full sun, the leaflets point straight up to the ski so that only the edges of the leaf are in full sun. The rest of the leaflet absorbs light as it filters down through the leaves. In the shade, the leaflets are completely horizontal to absorb as much of the filtered light as possible. On the same leaf, you will probably find leaflets oriented horizontally, vertically, and all angles in between!

If you decide to purchase one of these plants from a greenhouse (either as an indoor tropical plant or as an outdoor landscaping plant), please make sure you do your due diligence and find out how that particular plant was grown. The only way of propagating this species is via seeds (the plant cannot tolerating being propagated by cuttings or offshoots of the main stem), and this is incredibly difficult to achieve in a greenhouse. For this reason, many young Zamia plants are hunted in the wild every year to support the ornamental plant industry. This needs to stop if we want to protect this species' wild populations!

Like the sago cycad, the cardboard cycad is incredibly toxic to humans, and consumption of any part of the plant, raw or cooked, can lead to death via kidney and liver failure. As there is no known treatment for cardboard cycad poisoning, if you decide to tempt fate by eating a seed, you will regret your actions in due time. If you have children or pets, this plant is not recommended as a garden or indoor plant under any circumstances (it readily produces seeds in cultivation). Also take care when gardening around this plant or walking around in areas where this plant grows naturally; the spines on the leaf petioles are incredibly sharp and contain a drop of toxin at the tips. Touching the spines won't do anything since it can't be absorbed through the skin, but if it breaks the skin you will get very, very sick (although luckily death is unlikely). This plant is not to be messed with!

The Sago (non-palm) Cycad

Species name: Cycas revoluta

Common name: sago palm, sago cycad

Location: UWO Greenhouse

The sago palm (like quite a few of the common  names recently featured on my blog, this one is also misleading; it is not a true palm) is native to Japan, where it has existed since the time of the dinosaurs. In fact, ferns, lycophytes and cycads were some of the dominant vegetation during the Jurassic period. The cycads, unlike the lycophytes and the ferns, remain almost unchanged today from their ancestors (ferns and lycophytes are much smaller than they used to be!). There are an estimated 305 species of cycad still alive today (an estimated 1,000-2,500 species once existed), and unfortunately almost all of them are on the IUCN Red List of near-threatened, threatened, endangered, or critically endangered species. All cycads are very long-lived (some estimated based on their height to be over 1,000 years old), but grow very, very slowly. The tallest cycads in the world are in the southern half of the African continent, and can be up to 6 meters tall (most cycads rarely reach a height of 2 meters before succumbing).

As we all know, poaching is a huge problem in many countries in Africa, with rhinos being hunted to near-extinction for their horns, and elephants being hunted for their tusks. While both of these activities have been illegal (according to local and international laws) for quite a while, they still occur often enough to have anti-poaching officers in all national parks in Africa that carry machine guns; their orders are shoot first, ask questions second. What I found absolutely mind-boggling is that many poachers in South Africa aren't after big game animals; they're after cycads. With the recent boom of very, very rich people in different countries in Africa, each of them wants to make a special statement in their choice of landscaping around their homes. Large, mature cycads are hunted in the wild, all of their foliage stripped off so that it's nearly impossible to determine species, let alone what group of plants it belongs to, then shipped off to their new destination. Once dug into the ground, they will readily root and (albeit slowly) regrow their leaves. Depending on the species, cycads can be sold on the black market for up to USD$30,000 each! There are now anti-poaching officers who are responsible for ensuring cycads are not being actively hunted in the wild; they parole the national parks in South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Kenya and Namibia just like big game officers. I'm proud of the stance they're taking to protect their native and endangered species!

Despite this species being near-threatened in the wild, it occurs in huge numbers in cultivation, grown for ornamental purposes and also for the starch in the centre of the stem (which, when extracted, is called sago). Once the starch is washed (the stem tissues of the sago palm contain various toxins, so the starch must be washed before it can be consumed), it is processed into its various forms and shipped out to those who use it. When rolled into small balls, it is used interchangeably with tapioca; when you drink bubble tea you just might have sago bubbles instead of real tapioca bubbles! The small sago beads are also used to make sago pudding, which I hear is quite good (I've never had an opportunity to try it; it's on my "to do" list!).

If you have a sago cycad (I like this name much better than sago palm; it better reflects the actual plant!) in your back yard and think it would be a fun thing to use as a food source, I strongly urge you to reconsider. Leave the starch extraction to the experts. Consumption of improperly prepared starch from the stems of cycads (and consumption of their seeds, which you should NEVER do) has led to outbreaks of a Parkinson-like disease in Guam (and possibly other Southeast Asian countries), which will eventually lead to death. Cycads are dinosaurs of the plant world, we should make sure we treat them with the respect they deserve!

Norfolk Island's pseudo-pine

Species name: Araucaria heterophylla

Common name: Norfolk Island Pine

Location: UWO Greenhouse

The Norfolk Island pine, as the common name suggests, is native to the very small island of Norfolk Island, located between Australia and New Zealand. Contrary to what the common name suggests, it is not a pine. Due to the incredibly small native range and the wild hunting of this species, it is listed internationally as vulnerable.

The Norfolk Island pine is an incredibly popular ornamental species due to its almost perfect triangular symmetry. When young and grown in optimal growth conditions (which this greenhouse doesn't have; you can tell by the shape of the tree), the branches are closely bunched and project almost straight out from the main trunk. The branches are subdivided, and these branchlets project outwards towards the tips of the main branch, but fanning outwards at about a 60-degree angle (see the second picture to get a visual of what I'm trying, poorly, to describe). The amazing geometry of this species makes it, by far, one of my favourite tree species. I have never tried to grow it indoors, but I'm guessing that I would be disappointed at the results. The Norfolk Island pine REALLY doesn't like being confined to a pot! It is widely planted outdoors in subtropical and tropical locations: Florida, California, Hawaii, some regions in Brazil and Chile, resort and tourist areas in Honduras, and in lush areas of South Africa. Fortunately, there is a huge market for commercially-grown greenhouse Norfolk Island pines, so they are rarely disturbed in the wild (and they are now a federally-protected species). In fact, the Norfolk Island pine is so valued by the island that it is the main symbol on their flag! And what a lovely flag it is; picture a green Canadian flag but with a Norfolk Island pine tree instead of a maple leaf. They do say that copying is the most sincere form of flattery...right?

Surprisingly enough, this tree has actually been banned as an ornamental species in some coastal communities in Florida and California, and this has nothing to do with the potential for being invasive (which it isn't). Due to frost damage, the main trunk and bottom branches of these trees can become very fragile, and only attached by the innermost woody tissues. As soon as the first big wind storm (or hurricane) hits, the trunk and/or the lower branches go flying off, even when other tree species in the area remain standing. This can cause serious property damage, and can even result in the loss of lives due to flying debris. As a result, the tree has been banned and other native trees have been suggested in its place.

The cones of the Norfolk Island pine, which I have unfortunately never seen (they look spectacular in pictures!), are enormous and look like they should be big enough to snap off the tips of the branches due to their weight. Once the cones are mature (after about 18 months!), they split open and completely disintegrate, releasing the nut-like edible seeds on the inside. If you have one of these trees as an ornamental species and get cones from it, roast some of the seeds and let me know what they taste like! Remember, don't ever collect seeds in the wild; because this is an IUCN Red List species in the "vulnerable" category, it is against international laws to collect seeds from wild individuals. I wouldn't want anyone to get arrested!

The flag of Norfolk Island (image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Kusamaki: the Arhat Pine

Species name: Podocarpus macrophyllus

Common name: Buddhist pine

Location: UWO Greenhouse

Podocarps are native to a region from China all the way south to the northern tip of Australia. This particular species is native to a small region in China and Japan, but is incredibly abundant there even now. Since the name "Buddhist Pine" is incredibly misleading (this plant is not a pine!), the traditional Japanese name is being favoured by English-speaking countries as the new common name of this plant: Kusamaki. In nature this tree can reach up to 20 meters in height, but in a greenhouse it rarely reaches more than a couple meters.

When mature, the Kusamaki produces berry-like structures that are used to disperse seeds, much like the yew (which you can read about HERE and HERE). They are toxic to humans (definitely won't kill you, but certainly will make you regret your decision to consume them), but quite delicious to birds who eat the fleshy coating of the seeds and disperse the seeds themselves in their poo. This phenomenon a very common bird-plant relationship, with many species of plants actually requiring their seeds to pass through a bird's digestive tract in order to germinate. While in the bird's gizzard, the sand that they consume to help grind their food to a paste also lightly scours the seed coat, which allows  it to pop open once exposed once again to sunlight, organic material and water. This is called ornithochory (ornitho- for "bird" and -chory for "to spread/disperse").

The Japanese rely very heavily on this plant as a building material, as many traditional Japanese houses are still made out of wood and must be resistant to rain and strong against wind. The wood of this plant is very rot resistant, and has its own waterproofing. The other desirable characteristic about this plant is that it is very resistant to termites, a huge problem for some prefectures or states in Japan. In Hong Kong, the Kusamaki is regarded as one of the most prized trees for feng shui, which means it is very valuable for sale and trade. In some areas in Hong Kong, the tree has been hunted to near extirpation due to the high market value for mature specimens.

A Rocky Mountain Juniper

Species name: Juniperus scopulorum

Common name: Rocky Mountain juniper

Location: Ontario

As the name suggests, the Rocky Mountain juniper is native to the Rocky Mountains in North America, from British Columbia all the way south into Mexico (although, there are so few populations left in Texas and Mexico that the range should probably be amended to say it ends in Arizona; this very suggestion has been put forth by the USDA more than once). It thrives in high altitudes where it is common and a relatively short tree (as most alpine species are), but incredibly long lived. In New Mexico, one was felled that was estimated to be 1,500 years old, and a standing dead tree was found to have 1,888 tree rings. There are some individuals left in Arizona that are estimated to be 2,000 years old or more. Incredibly enough, these aren't even the oldest living trees on Earth...

Those of you who live on the west coast and have seen this species in their native habitat on mountain sides will probably be pretty jealous of the height of this individual on campus. It was probably planted when Talbot College was built in about 1970, so the tree would only be 40-50 years old. It's already much taller at 50 years than other individuals would be after 750 years or more! Just goes to show that when you plant species outside of their native habitats, strange morphologies can be achieved.

Like all gymnosperms, the "berries" produced on the branches are not fruits, no matter how they might appear. Gymnosperms, unlike angiosperms, do not have flowers and so don't have all the layers of tissue required to produce a true fruit. Despite this fact, ginkgo (which you can read about HERE), yews (which you can read all about HERE and HERE), and junipers all produce berry-like "fruits" that are just modified seeds. The outermost layer of the seed is modified to store starchy and sugary compounds, often with a lot of waxes and resins to protect the seeds from predation by small animals, and are produced instead of cones. Another interesting fact to note about this species of juniper is that, like ginkgo and holly, the tree is either male or female but never both. The bright blue modified seeds are produced on the female trees, and the male trees have pollen cones that are produced in the spring and release all of their pollen into the air right around spring allergy season. It seems like in the spring and fall, all of the trees conspire against humans to irritate our airways! Sometimes the blue berries are produced regardless of whether the male tree is present or not, but the seeds inside will not be viable. Like holly and ginkgo plants, if you want to ensure the success of the seeds you need to plant both sexes in close proximity.

Many junipers have traditionally held a strong importance in the lives of native North Americans due to their medicinal value. The bark of the Rocky Mountain juniper is boiled to make a tea and consumed to treat coughs and fevers. Since there are so many resins produced by this species (the yellow "sap" that drips down the outside of the tree, especially after the tree has been wounded) have great antimicrobial properties, and are actually the very reason the tree produces them in the first place! I have strong suspicions that any time the bark of a gymnosperm is cooked to extract the resins then consumed, it will have a strong effect against bacteria in the mouth and throat. This doesn't mean you should attempt this, however; some resins produced by various species of gymnosperms are highly toxic and should never be consumed! It's always a fine line in herbal medicine between things that will make you very ill and things that will help your sickness. Mixing your own concoctions just to try things out is strongly discouraged.

One of the Austrian pines

Species name: Pinus nigra

Common name: Austrian pine, European black pine

Location: Ontario

The Austrian pine is native to Europe, in countries surrounding the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas. There are actually two subspecies of the Austrian pine which rarely interbreed (but are still capable of forming hybrids in a very small overlapping zone as well as when they are brought together under artificial conditions like a greenhouse): the western subspecies existing in southern Italy, southern Spain, southern France and North Africa and the eastern subspecies in Austria, central Italy and Turkey. The needles of the two subspecies are quite different and you can easily tell them apart when side-by-side; the needles of the eastern subspecies are much fatter and much more rigid than the western subspecies. They both have different liveable temperature ranges, too, with the eastern subspecies being able to tolerate much colder minimum temperatures (down to -40 degrees Celsius with no adverse effects) compared to the western subspecies (only about -25 degrees Celsius or so). I believe the subspecies on campus would be the eastern subspecies, P. nigra subsp. nigra.

One major attractive feature that probably led to its widespread planting across Europe and North America is that it is a very fast growing tree, relative to other needle-bearing trees. It was originally thought to be an excellent lumber tree, so it was planted in large numbers in North America. Unfortunately, the grain of the wood is very rough and quite variable across the height of the tree, so making long boards suitable for building is not feasible. It was turned to as a major source of pulp and fibres for making paper, as a fuel source, and is still used as a low-grade wood for some construction purposes.

Unfortunately, as with most plant species that have been transported out of their native range, the Austrian pine has a dirty secret. That secret is a fungus. The "red band needle blight disease", caused by the fungus Dothistroma septosporum, is especially toxic to North American Austrian pine trees because of their inability to breed properly here. Austrian pines have a hard time cross-breeding outside of their native ranges, and the seeds that are self-fertilized are much less likely to germinate. This causes something called "inbreeding depression," which can lead to a buildup of genes that make a tree (this happens in animals, too) more susceptible to a pathogen. The North American trees are very susceptible to this pathogen, and it is an almost certainty that every single Austrian pine tree in North America will succumb to this disease. There is no known treatment once a tree is infected other than cutting it down and burning the residues (especially the needles, where the pathogen is housed in the living tree). Planting this tree, even as an ornamental, is strongly discouraged and planting this tree in continuous stands is not only strongly discouraged, but carries quite a hefty fine if you're caught doing it in many states in the United States (but no provinces in Canada yet). You can see that the tree in the top picture is looking very unhealthy; it is likely showing the first signs of infection from the disease.

What's the name of this plant again?

Species name: Ginkgo biloba

Common name: ginkgo, maidenhair tree

Location: Ontario

Up until relatively recently (late 1700s to early 1800s), this species of tree was well known from the fossil record (along with the approximately 8 other species in the genus) but believed to be extinct in the wild. There were a few living specimens known at the time in China, Korea and Japan that had been cultivated and tended by monks for thousands of years, and so they were considered to be, quite literally, living fossils. Two stands of trees were discovered in China and from those two remaining small populations, all of the rest of the trees in cultivation around the world were derived. Unfortunately, it was discovered recently that the two remaining natural populations show an incredibly high level of genetic uniformity (suggesting they might, in fact, be two "families" of trees and therefore very closely related to each other) which puts them at great risk should a pathogen develop that targets ginkgo trees. This probably isn't an "if" and more a "when"! Like bananas, all of the ginkgo trees would be wiped out if we couldn't come up with a solution in time. Similarly to the Dawn redwood, the ginkgo tree is monotypic, meaning that it is the only remaining species in the genus, and all of the rest of the close relatives to this species are known only from fossils. You can read all about the Dawn redwood HERE. Interestingly enough, the Dawn redwood, like the ginkgo, is also critically endangered in the wild.

There are two characteristics about the ginkgo that are worth noting. The first is that these trees are dioecious, meaning that there are separate male and female trees. If you're planting a ginkgo tree on your property for purely ornamental purposes, make sure you choose a male tree! The female trees are the ones that bear the fruits, and the fruits have a hideous smell (think of the smell of rotting, rancid butter and that will begin to describe it...) that lingers throughout the winter with every temporary melt of snow. If you would like to plant the tree to consume the seeds for their reported medicinal values, make sure you plant both a male and a female tree to ensure large amounts of seed production. The second interesting characteristic about this tree is that they don't actually produce fruit, because fruit can only be produced by Angiosperm trees and this is a Gymnosperm. This means that the ginkgo, despite looking like it has broad leaves (similar to something like a maple or aspen or oak) it actually has modified needles (like pine or spruce or a cycad)! The "fruits" are actually just seeds with a swollen outer surface called a sarcotesta, and is developmentally very different than the fleshy part of a fruit. Once that layer is removed (should you attempt this insane, smelly feat, WEAR GLOVES! The smell, once on your skin, has to be leeched out, not washed out!), the remaining seed "shell", the sclerotesta is revealed and it looks a whole lot like an unopened pistachio (but a lot bigger).

The ginkgo seeds are culinary delicacies in many locations around the world, not the least of which being in China where it is used in large amounts around Chinese New Year in a dish called Buddha's Delight (if you've never tried it, you must! It's delicious). The Japanese and Koreans also make dishes that feature the ginkgo seed, and they are served year-round (but more so on special occasions since they are expensive). The other main use of this plant aside from its culinary and ornamental uses is the medicinal use. This is actually one of the suggested reasons for the decline of the population of ginkgo trees throughout its native range. Other theories state that massive ecological changes caused drastic declines in population and the ongoing medicinal value of the plant was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. Regardless, there are now plantations in China for the dedicated medicinal use of this plant.

Medicinally, the main claims to fame with ginkgo and human health revolve around memory and dementia. First, it is claimed that ginkgo supplements help with memory retention in the aging process. It is suggested that if you consume 240 mg of ginkgo extract per day it will improve your long-term memory and help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease. In a very large study in 2008 done by the Journal of the American Medical Association, there was no effect of ginkgo extract consumption and memory, or a correlation between ginkgo consumption in any form and the onset of Alzheimer's. People who consumed ginkgo were just as likely to get it as those that didn't. A much smaller study in 2010 by the American Geriatric Society published in the Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry showed that it had a significant effect over a placebo in people already suffering from Alzheimer's (or other diseases that are Alzheimer's-like) on memory retention. A third study showed that for up to 2.5 hours after consumption, ginkgo extract and ginkgo seeds had a significant effect on memory retention in memory-recall experiments in healthy people. So far there are no studies that show that ginkgo is harmful to your health, so if you choose to take it to improve your memory at the very least it will do nothing. But until more large-scale scientific studies start agreeing with each other, take all reported effects with a grain of salt.

Ginkgo extract does act as an anti-coagulant, so as with all medications (herbal or not), make sure you consult a doctor before taking them to make sure it won't interfere with anything you're already taking. This especially applies to those at high-risk of stroke who are already on blood-thinners like warfarin (yes, the rat poison warfarin is now a medication for humans!) or coumadin, since even a minor injury could lead to massive blood loss.

Dawn Redwood: Critically Endangered?

Species name: Metasequoia glyptostroboides

Common name: Dawn redwood

Location: Ontario

This species of redwood is unique in many ways, only one of which being that it was only recently (well, in the grand scheme of things it's recent) rediscovered in 1949 after thoughts it had gone extinct in the late 1800s. It is native to a very small region in China, and within its native range there are only a few individuals of this species left so it is critically endangered. That being said, it's also an incredibly popular ornamental tree (gaining popularity in North America) so cultivated species of this plant will likely always exist even after the wild members of the population are long gone. Another unique aspect of this tree is that unlike it's close relatives, the Giant Redwood (Sequoiadendron) and the Coastal Redwood (Sequoia), this is a deciduous tree and a conifer at the same time. It produces cones like you would picture from a redwood or even a cedar, but loses its leaves during the fall like an oak or maple tree would. As you can see from the pictures, the leaves are like feathers, and it seems like they all appear overnight after the buds have persisted on the branches for many days or weeks. While you might imagine the debris from this tree would be quite impressive since it can be a huge tree (up to 200 feet in the wild) with many leaves, the leaf-like needles actually decay very quickly. It's certainly not the padded ground cover that you find in pine plantations!

The Dawn redwood is what we refer to as being a "monotypic" species, meaning that it is the only species that is currently alive in the genus. There are an estimated three other species that have once existed in the genus based on evidence from the fossil record. These trees seemed to be abundant in the early Paleocene, between 55-60 million years ago. The changing climate likely led to their demise, which seems to be repeating itself with the last remaining species. The Dawn redwood is also very sensitive to urban pollutants, so living in the city and trying to grow one of these outside is probably a losing proposition (and a good reason why urban encroachment is one of the contributing factors to the status of the last remaining wild population of this species). That being said, this is a popular plant species to turn into a bonsai, so growing it indoors can work well if you have time and patience!

These trees are a source of national pride in China, so much so that it's actually illegal to take branch cuttings from any one of the remaining 5,000 trees left in the wild. Unfortunately, cone collection is not protected in the same way so natural regeneration of these trees has essentially stopped. Once the mature trees in the stand die, the species will be extinct in the wild. The state of North Carolina has attempted to do its part by planting an enormous stand of Dawn redwood trees over three different sites. Their goal is to have 5,000 trees planted in various stages of growth by the year 2035, which is when the nature preserve is slated to open to the public. Hopefully this enormous undertaking will continue to thrive with changing national budget priorities! I would love to go see it someday.

A Charlie Brown Christmas in May

Species name: Picea abies

Common name: Norway Spruce, Christmas Trees

Location: Ontario

As the common name of this plant suggests, this tree is native to northern Europe. It has been present in Canada for many, many years and is often considered a "naturalized" plant. It is incredibly important to the Canadian softwood lumber industry, amongst other uses.

I'm not sure why, but Spruce seedlings in general always remind me of Charlie Brown trees. Anyone who has seen A Charlie Brown Christmas knows exactly what I'm talking about with the topsy-turvy, rather pathetic looking tree supporting Christmas ornaments far bigger and heavier than it should. Perhaps some of the reasoning behind that is that Norway Spruce are actually the most popular Christmas trees in North America, and any time you see a "traditional" Christmas tree farm this will be the tree of choice (more "modern" farms are now resorting to planting more than one species of tree since different people like different qualities in their Christmas tree; some bushier than others, longer needles, shorter needles, softer or harder needles, ones that stay on the tree longer, etc.). Conifer seedlings in general are great examples of the benefits a plant gets from interactions of plant roots and fungal threads called mycorrhizae. Seedlings without these interactions are significantly smaller and have fewer needles (and generally do not survive into "old age") compared to their mycorrhizal competitors. In fact, there are some species of plants that cannot survive without these mycorrhizae. This seedling more than likely does have mycorrhizae since it is growing right beside a very large Norway Spruce (which also likely has mycorrhizae to have become as large as it is) and is still alive and kicking almost 4 years after this picture was taken. My neighbours keeps threatening to rip it out of their garden (which I guess they're more than welcome to do...but how could they?! Isn't it just the cutest thing you've ever seen?!) but I always manage to convince them to give it another year. My hope is that eventually it will be big enough it's not worth pulling out!

Other than use as Christmas trees, lumber, and pulp for paper, Norway Spruce trees have been symbols of thanks between Norway and the United States, Scotland and England since the end of World War II. Every Christmas, Norway sends one giant Norway Spruce tree to Washington D.C., New York City, Edinburg, and London which is meant to be displayed in the most central square of each city. While this is not the origin of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree in New York City, this is the tree on display as the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree in London, England. The tree is a symbol of thanks for the assistance given to Norway during the Second World War, but also as a token of gratitude for the ongoing good will between these countries.

Eastern White Pine: Ontario's provincial tree

Species name: Pinus strobus

Common name: Eastern White Pine, White Pine, Wheymouth Pine

Location: Ontario

The Eastern White Pine is a native evergreen tree to Eastern Canada (Newfoundland to Manitoba), and has now been naturalized in the mountains of Poland and Czech Republic (naturalized meaning it is not native, but not out-competing native species). These trees are incredibly important in Canadian industry for timber and in the pulp and paper industry. They are the provincial tree of Ontario, and the state tree of Maine and Michigan. In the photo are the male or staminate cones, which are the cones that produce pollen. The pinecones that fall off the tree in the fall and are often used for decorative purposes are the female or carpellate cones which eventually produce the seeds. Staminate cones are the reason for many pollen allergies in the spring. These staminate cones are even the state flower of Maine!

Eastern White Pine trees were historically very susceptible to a fungus called the White Pine Blister Rust, which was introduced from either Asia or Europe during the 19th century. By the early 20th century the mortality of White Pines in some areas was as high as 80%. The Blister Rust is a fungus that requires an alternate host to complete its life cycle (in this case Ribes, or Gooseberry or Wild Currant). In the mid- to late-20th century, it was suggested by the US Department of Forest Pathology that if Ribes plants were removed from surrounding forest with White Pine, the disease can be controlled. This method was actually incredibly effective, and now mortality of "natural" pines (not ornamental pines, but those occurring naturally in forests) is about 3%. Now in New England in the US it is actually illegal in some locations to plant wild currant or wild gooseberry plants.

In the forestry industry, White Pines have historically been used to make masts for boats and some were even marked with a blue arrow as reserved for the British Royal Navy. This was a practice of great controversy in the US, leading eventually (at least contributing to) to the American Revolution. There are now more than just North American White Pines that are used as lumber to make masts of ships, should they be made of wood at all (most are now metal). Instead of growing trees for masts, we now grow pine plantations for Christmas trees and other lumber/pulp/paper purposes (building materials, furniture, carving, etc.). The sap of the White Pine is purified to make turpentine.

Surprisingly enough, White Pine trees are also used for food and as medicine by some native North American people. Pine needles themselves contain about five times the amount of Vitamin C as lemons (the typical Vitamin C benchmark), and make a great "Vitamin C tea." The cambium of the tree (the fast-reproduicing cells that produce the wood and inner bark of the tree) is commonly eaten by the Algonquin people. It is a good source of a chemical called resveratrol which has been touted as the "new cure" for just about everything that affects humans from diabetes to cancer. It has shown some promise as a chemical that will significantly reduce blood sugar as a potential treatment and/or cure for diabetes, but only in extremely high doses. The only human trial that has shown this was sponsored by a drug company, so any results that come from it have to be taken with a grain of salt. Other medicinal uses of this tree: as an anti-microbial agent used to treat gangrene by the Chippewa, and using the residue of slowly burning branches and roots as a treatment for dandruff.

Spindly Black Spruce

Species name: Picea mariana (formerly Picea nigra)

Common name: Black spruce

Location: Nova Scotia

I took this photo in Kejimkujik National Park on the bog boardwalk leading out to the beach. It was a pretty typical maritime spring day: cool in the morning, warming up quickly and becoming incredibly foggy then the fog burning off by the mid-afternoon. This was one of those rare moments where you could see more than 10 feet in front of your face as a fog cloud was blown out of the way.

Black spruce is a typical plant of the boreal forest in Canada and Alaska. It's a native evergreen tree with a very typical shape: somewhat bushy at the bottom, becoming much narrower and more spindly towards the top. One of the most impressive characteristics of this plant towards the northern part of its range is that its a great indicator of predominant wind direction. Black spruce grows very slowly, and slower still when the wind is pushing against the tips of branches. The "wind side" of the tree has much shorter branches compared to the "sheltered side".

Black spruce is one of the many boreal species that require fire in order for their seeds to germinate in great numbers, and so for that reason this species is especially successful at recolonizing the boreal forest after a fire. Since forest fires are relatively common in this forest zone, stands of boreal forest that are dominated by black spruce are often trees of the same age (as opposed to typical successional forests where there are old and young trees of the same species in the same location). Within the boreal zone, it's an incredibly common tree and is at no risk of becoming a threatened or endangered speices.

Black spruce trees grow slowly and never attain a very large circumference despite the tree's age. For this reason they are not valuable lumber trees in the construction business. They are, however, a major source of pulp for the paper industry in Canada. As cultural importance, the black spruce is the provincial tree of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada.