Don't squish this spider!

BLOG UPDATE: Good news! I have now gone through all of my pictures from my vacation (can you believe that I took 600 pictures in a single day twice?!), and organized them into "plant pictures," "lizard pictures," and "other" pictures. Since I have so many of them, I might even find a way to squeak a lizard picture or two into a blog post somewhere down the line...

Thanks for bearing with me during my weeks of sporadic activity! Back to regular blog posts we go.

Species name: Hymenocallis speciosa

Common name: spider lily

Location: Dominican Republic

The spider lily, which should be incredibly reminiscent of my last blog post about the potted bulb of the "amaryllis" (which you can read all about HERE), is native to Dominican Republic and other islands in the West Indies. It has been spread all over the world in tropical and sub-tropical areas where it is very popular as an ornamental garden plant (it doesn't do nearly as well in a pot as the traditional amaryllis). While not the same genus, the "amaryllis" and the spider lily are very closely related, and have many characters that are similar between them.

One notable difference is how the flower itself looks. In the spider lily, the tepals are fused into a bottom structure called a staminate cup. Here, all of the stamens (and hence the name of the cup) emerge from the centre of the flower and produce huge amounts of pollen. The bottom of the cup is also where the nectaries are formed, and if you catch the flowers as soon as they open they reportedly have a very strong vanilla-like scent (I can't speak for that since all I smelled most of the trip where these flowers were growing was sunscreen and BBQ!). The seed pods are also quite different than in Hippeastrum; instead of being located on stalks coming off of the inflorescence stalk, they are sessile (or directly attached by their base to the stalk of the inflorescence). Other than those two differences, the leaves look nearly identical, the bulbs are completely indistinguishable from Hippeastrum, and the flower buds before they open look nearly identical.

The growth form of this bulb and where it thrives is also very different from the traditional houseplant amaryllis, and can be used as another easy way to distinguish the two genera. Hippeastrum does very poorly when submerged for any amount of time, and that's one of the reasons why it is recommended when you have an amaryllis in a pot that you water it from the bottom to prevent drowning the bulb. Hymenocallis, on the other hand, can grow in swampy areas where the bulbs are completely submerged in water for months at a time. They do require a dry period to store enough nutrients to support flowers the next year, but this doesn't have to be a significant amount of the year. Also, it does very well growing in pure sand, which is incredibly unusual for a plant since sand contains very few nutrients (the soil is so porous everything just flows right through). Since these plants are such popular ornamental species in the areas where they are native, their status as a common species is secure.

A hippopotamus of a bulb

Species name: Hippeastrum sp.

Common name: "amaryllis"

Location: Ontario

Since I'm still not done going through all of my plant pictures from the Dominican, I figured I would profile a plant from my house! Every year, my grandma gives an amaryllis bulb to every family and there's a friendly competition to see who can get the first flower, the tallest flower stalk, the shortest flower stalk, a bulb that doesn't grow (this always seems to go to my uncle Steve, who couldn't get a weed to grow even if he tried), and the most number of flowers. There are no prizes other than the right to brag to everyone that you know that you're better and/or worse at growing a bulb than the rest of your family. Apparently this is fun...

The plant that has the common name of "amaryllis" actually isn't an Amaryllis at all. The common ornamental species of Hippeastrum (there are approximately 90 species in the genus) are native to tropical and subtropical regions in the Americas, from about Mexico and the Caribbean south to the northern half of Argentina. The appearance of the flowers of this genus can be wildly different, but they all have three things in common: the plants are called "bulbous perennials" (they flower every year from a bulb and live for many years), the flower stalk is the first green part to emerge from the bulb, and all of the flowers have 6 tepals (3 petals and 3 sepals which are indistinguishable from each other once the flower is mature). The true Amaryllis, however, is native to South Africa and is starting to become more and more common throughout the world as ornamental species. The two genera are morphologically similar, but they can be easily distinguished if two species are side-by-side. They were both thought to originally belong to the genus Lilium, which contains all of the "true" 6-tepaled lilies, but DNA sequencing has shown that this is definitely not the case (it was no longer believed to be the case, even before their genes were sequenced; all lilies are highly toxic and have very different growth morphologies than either the amarillii or "amarillii"). There are significantly more issues with the taxonomy of these two genera, but I'm not going to get into that; if you want to read about the issues, you can read the "taxonomy" section of the Wikipedia article of Hippeastrum HERE.

One of the aspects of the indoor amaryllis that makes it such an ideal houseplant is the ease of growing it: put the bulb into some soil (it can be significantly less soil than you think should be able to support how big the plant will actually get), put it in a window, and water it once a week. Seriously! That's it. Some bulbs take longer than others to flower the first time because of the amount of nutrients it managed to acquire the season before; if it doesn't flower right away, give it some time and perhaps put it into a sunnier, less drafty window. The roots will become well-established and will funnel nutrients to the bulb, allowing the flower stalk to start to emerge. It is green when it first starts growing, producing sugars for the rest of the plant to use as fuel for growth. Not long after the flower stalk emerges from the bulb the leaves will start to grow, and within a few weeks you should have something that's starting to look very much like a traditional amaryllis. The varieties and cultivars used for their ornamental value and packed in boxes in November and December are usually grown for their enormous flowers and very long flower stalk; this is typically not how the plants would look in nature (and the last image should give you a hint why if you're observant). The height of the flower stalk and the weight of the flowers is far too much for the plant to handle on its own, and you're going to need to resort to staking up your plant unless you want soil all over the floor! Once the flower stalk is done flowering, you might be lucky enough to get seeds produced, which you can plant in new pots and get new plants growing from seed. Be warned, however, that the offspring will likely look nothing like their parents; genetic recombination that occurs during fertilization means that genes will be shuffled and some that produce the ideal flower and plant morphology of the bulb you bought in the box will be lost.

Once the flower stalk dies, clip it off at the base and allow the leaves to continue to grow and produce sugars that are stored in the bulb (this is where it's important to ignore all information about how to properly grow an amaryllis that's on the box). The leaves will gradually yellow and start to decay; that would be a good time to pull them off the bulb (they should detach very easily at the bulb). Eventually, you'll be left with just a bulb in a pot. Water the bulb very sparingly (as in, not at all or once a month at most) until December rolls around again, and then water it whenever you remember, but no more than once every couple of weeks. Once it's ready, it will start to grow a new flower stalk. Water once a week, and voila! A new flower. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't flower again the second year; some varieties can only afford to flower every other year because of the number of resources it requires to produce the flowers.

Are you Afraid of this lily?

Species name: Hemerocallis sp. (Hemerocallis 'Afraid')

Common name: daylily

Location: Ontario

This cultivar of daylily was registered in 1985 and has been a popular short-statured late-bloomer since. The flowers are a salmon-pink that become darker with age (as opposed to fading with age, as in most daylily cultivars), don't have a visible eyespot, and have a yellow-green throat. One great quality of this cultivar is that it can live quite happily in full sun to full shade, and can survive drought-like conditions (which we're experiencing quite a bit in southwestern Ontario this summer) for an extended period of time. Like the last cultivar I highlighted, Classic Caper, the petals and sepals of these flowers are quite different; the petals have a ruffled edge that becomes slightly yellowed with age, and the sepals are much narrower and much less pigmented.

For a more in-depth blog post about daylilies, please click HERE.

Classic Caper is a lily that looks nothing like capers

Species name: Hemerocallis sp. (Hemerocallis 'Classic Caper')

Common name: daylily

Location: Ontario

This cultivar of daylily was first registered in 1982, and is the first example of something called an "eye" or an "eyespot". The maroon colouring in this daylily cultivar is only on the petals, and only on the upper surface. It doesn't extend down to where the petals join (the neck or the throat), so it makes the flower appear as if it has an eye in the middle. Eyes in daylilies at one time were thought to be very difficult to achieve, but now they're becoming more and more common in modern cultivars. Perhaps all we as humans needed to do was find a cultivar that expressed the gene (or gene mutation), and the rest comes easily after that. Or perhaps it was just bad luck historically that led to fewer cultivars with eyes. As an aside, I have no idea how this cultivar got its name since the flowers of the caper plant are not anything remotely like these flowers (not in colour, pattern of colour or shape), and the fruit are picked green and pickled; the only thing I can figure is that it's named after the Latin grammarian Flavius Caper.

For a more in-depth blog post about daylilies, please click HERE.

Salmon Sheen is a kind of lily

Species name: Hemerocallis sp. (Hemerocallis 'Salmon Sheen')

Common name: daylily

Location: Ontario

This cultivar of daylily was first registered all the way back in 1950, and can almost be considered an "heirloom" cultivar. There are different requirements for what cultivars or varieties of plants can be considered heirloom based on the species, but in general it means that very little genetic modification (either modern methods or good old fashioned selective breeding) has been done to the plant. This particular cultivar looks a whole lot like Hemerocallis fulva in its "pure" form (which I guess now is a bit up for debate considering how much we've changed its appearance as humans) with just a bit more colour added in on the sepals and petals. This cultivar is reblooming if cut back after the first display of flowers, and the flowers also open leading up to the nighttime hours, with the blooms often looking a little worse for wear by morning.

For a more in-depth blog post about daylilies, please click HERE.

Lucky Seven even has a lily

Species name: Hemerocallis sp. (Hemerocallis 'Lucky Seven')

Common name: daylily

Location: Ontario

This cultivar of daylily is relatively common in North America, but losing popularity because of it's thin tepals compared to other species. It's not quite a "spider" cultivar, and not quite a "full" cultivar. I'm not sure if a cultivar that's somewhere between a spider variety and a regular cultivar has its own name or whether it's just considered partway between the two. To be considered a full spider cultivar, the tepals (sepals and petals) must be fully separate all the way down to the throat, where they join into the tube of the flower. I've never truly seen a spider cultivar, so they must be relatively rare, at least as far as Southwestern Ontario goes. The cultivar 'Lucky Seven' was first made in 1984, so I guess I should consider it one of my birthday cultivars!

For a more in-depth blog about daylilies, please click HERE.

The Gentle Shepherd has a lily

Species name: Hemerocallis sp. (Hemerocallis 'Gentle Shepherd')

Common name: daylily

Location: Ontario

This cultivar of daylily is very pale yellow fading to nearly white, but when the flower tepals start to dry up before they fall off the plant, the underside turn almost a salmon-orange. The cultivar was first created in 1982, and has been incredibly popular with gardeners since. It's relatively rare to find a white or almost white daylily, and it seems when white blooms are selected the hardiness of the plant suffers. It does much better in warmer climates, especially ones with warmer winters since it doesn't do well with freeze-thaw cycles. Despite all that, the ones on campus seem to be doing just fine!

For a more in-depth blog post about daylilies, please click HERE.

Bertie Ferris has a lily

Species name: Hemerocallis sp. (Hemerocallis 'Bertie Ferris')

Common name: Bertie Ferris daylily

Location: Ontario

Today's blog post (and for the next few blog posts) is going to be short and sweet. Since daylilies seem to be so incredibly popular with gardeners (there are hundreds of "official" cultivars of daylily registered in the United States; Canada doesn't have the same type of registration system each time a new cultivar is made), I figured I would provide a blog-post-slideshow of all of the daylilies we have in our garden and that I can find on campus. Some are prettier than others, but each are pretty in their own respect. Yes, I seem to have a soft spot for most daylilies (the notable exception will be featured at the end of the series) yet hate hostas. Feel free to call me a hypocrite if you must :)

This cultivar of daylily likely has the species "base" Hemerocallis fulva as most other cultivars. This is becoming harder and harder to discern, however, due to morphological divergence between cultivars, and the fact that cultivars from different species are now being bred together. A neat phenomenon that can't be reproduced with many other popular garden and landscaping plants. The cultivar was registered in the United States in 1969, and has won many awards since then for "prettiest daylily" (although I'm sure they call their award something flashier and slightly more professional-sounding than that).

If you'd like to read more about daylilies in general, please click HERE to visit a previous blog post about them.

The Superman of the flower world

Species name: Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus

Common name: Daylily

Location: Ontario

This species of daylily is native to China, Russia, Slovenia and Italy, and was one of the very first of the genus Hemerocallis that was used for hybridization and domestication into its thousands of current cultivars. Many species of this genus have the ability to become invasive (such as the Tiger Lily, which many people think is a native North American wildflower), but to my knowledge this is not one of them. One of the qualities of daylilies that makes them not only attractive to gardeners but also very successful in a non-cultivated setting is their ability to withstand many different growing conditions. They can tolerate extreme cold during dormancy periods, and can tolerate extreme heat and dryness during the growing season. Some species can also tolerate periods of flooding, high winds, and frost. For this reason, the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) recognizes this plant as "successful" in hardiness zones 1-11, meaning from Alaska to Puerto Rico and Hawaii! Like Easter lilies, daylilies have three petals and three sepals, but because they're impossible to distinguish when the flower is mature we say there are six tepals.

Daylilies of all species and varieties are incredible potential learning tools when it comes to education about basic genetics. Most cultivars of daylily have the ability to hybridize, and there are quite a few gardeners that attempt every year to "create" their own cultivar by cross-breeding the daylilies in their back yards. I can imagine this being a great activity for kids in a school yard: plant some daylilies and have them grow until they are established (2 seasons at most), then set the kids out with paint brushes, plastic bags and different coloured string when the flowers are mature. Take the paint brush and rub it against the stamens to pick up pollen, then against the stigma to deposit the pollen. Put a plastic bag over the flower and secure with coloured string so you know what flower has been pollinated by who. Allow the fruit to start developing, then remove the plastic bag to let air circulate. Once the fruit is mature, open the pod to release the seeds, plant them in the ground and see what happens! I've heard of some people generating some really unique colour patterns as a result of "borrowing" pollen from daylilies around their neighbourhood and pollinating their own flowers. And who's going to miss a little pollen?!

Surprisingly enough, daylilies are actually a food source in China in some dishes that have become very popular in North America (and some I eat quite often!). The flowers, in China called gum jum or golden needles, are dried and used in hot and sour soup, Buddha's delight, and moo shu pork. There are some cultivars that have edible rhizomes, but others would irritate your stomach lining so it's best not to attempt to consume any of them. Despite this, historically the plant was used in a tea-like preparation to relieve stomach ache!

Tulipmania!

Species name: Tulipa sp. (probably Tulipa gesneriana)

Common name: tulip

Location: Nova Scotia

I took these photos when my friend Tanya and I were in Nova Scotia for a conference in May one year. The tulips there were in full bloom (they were a little past their prime in Ontario, but it's cooler in NS so it was a nice colourful surprise), along with the rest of the late spring wildflowers and cultivated flowers.

Tulips have a long-standing tradition of being one of the most popular ornamental flowers to humans worldwide. The Dutch were the ones that got the ball rolling during the Ottoman Empire (weren't you disappointed, too, to learn that this wasn't named after the invention of the footstool?) in the mid-1500s. Officially, the first documented case of planting tulip bulbs in Europe was in 1559 in Germany, with the bulbs arriving in the Netherlands in 1593 (the bulbs being planted at Leiden University). On the books, 1594 is the first tulip flower year for Holland, and these first flowers were the ones that led into Tulipmania and the commerical tulip flower trade.

Tulips do grow from bulbs and take many years of growth to build up the storage tissue in the bulb before they are prepared to flower. If you were to grow a tulip plant from seed, depending on the variety it would take between five and eight years to wait for a flower to appear. That's a lot of waiting, and an amount of time most people are not prepared to invest into an ornamental garden. So how is it that we put bulbs in the ground and they flower in the spring? Well, someone else has done the waiting for us. In fact, Holland is still the biggest grower and exporter of tulip bulbs worldwide (they've had a lot of practice!), and they dig up the bulbs that have formed every year and sort those by size. The bulbs big enough to flower the next spring are sent for export and sale, while the ones too small to produce a flower are set aside to be planted again. By the time you buy a bulb in the store, it has been deemed by the experts to be ready for flowering. If you do plant bulbs and not all of them flower, don't despair! Give them another year and I'm sure you'll be happy with your efforts. If you've been paying attention, you should be able to point out based on the third picture that tulips are monocots (click here for a refresher course in monocots vs. dicots, look at the third paragraph), since they have flower parts in multiples of three: three petals, three sepals (since they look so similar, we call them tepals like in Easter lilies), six stamens and three lobes on the stigma.

Tulipmania is often regarded as the first economic bubble in human history: tulip prices in 1637 skyrocketed to almost 10 times the annual salary of a skilled tradesman (that would be like you walking into a garden store with the keys to a ferrari, leaving the ferrari and taking a marigold plant home with you), then suddenly crashed. For those people that "cashed in" on the tulip market and sold everything, they also lost everything. To get fancy patterns on tulip tepals, the bulb must be infected with a virus called the Tulip Breaking Virus, or TBV. This is what causes the streaks of colour running vertically along each tepal. Since the virus must be in the bulb to cause the colour pattern, this pattern can only be seen in the mother plant and not in the seeds that plant produces. For this reason, "broken" tulips are relatively rare, and at the time of Tulipmania they were incredibly valuable. The most rare variety, called Semper Augustus, was not only a broken tulip but also a black tulip. To see a black flower is incredibly rare in nature, and for it to also have white streaks running through the tepals made them especially sought-after; so much so that there's a documented case of someone offering 34 acres of land for one Semper Augustus bulb.

The bubonic plague is also tightly tied to the story of Tulipmania: in 1637 the tulip trade came to a grinding halt since no buyers of tulip bulbs showed up to February tulip auction. The speculation for why this is the case is that the plague was rampant during this time, and there was widespread fear over catching it in populated places. Since tulip auctions always drew large crowds, the crowd just decided this time to stay home. By May of that year, the price of tulips was back down to baseline levels, and have remained relatively stable even today.

It's not Easter without lilies

Species name: Lilium longiflorum

Common name: Easter lily

Location: Dave's Garden -- DaylilySLP

Despite having purchased this plant umpteen times for my grandparents over the years for Easter, I've never actually taken a picture of the plant I purchased. I should fix that sometime soon! Until then, I found this lovely photograph on the website Dave's Garden of Easter lilies growing in a garden outside.

The story of how this plant became associated with Easter is a bit of a muddled tale, but an interesting one. This species of lily is native to Japan and Taiwan. The original flower associated with Easter in the United States (and presumably Canada as well) was a lily native to Bermuda. Since this plant has such an unusual growth cycle, gardeners and horticulturalists exploited this phenomenon to force it to bloom around Easter. Unfortunately, somewhere along the Bermuda-New York trade route a virus was picked up that completely devastated the lily crop in the 1920s, and that source of flowers was eliminated. The Americans had a solution to this problem, however, and started importing the flowers from the Ryukyu Islands in Japan. This practice continued for about 20 years until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which halted all trade between the USA and Japan. This meant that Easter lily became a hot commodity, trading often for more than a new car at the time. Now they're clearly much more common (you don't see anyone going to a grocery store with $50,000 to buy an Easter lily), but still heavily associated with Easter due to their flowering time.

Biologically, the Easter lily is an interesting example of plant manipulation. There is a difference between petals and sepals in nature: the petals of a flower are the bright, showy parts that encourage pollinators to visit them, while the sepals are often green, much smaller, and much more drab and only function in protection for the unopened flower bud. All species of lilies have increased their pollination abilities by turning their sepals into "petals" once the flower has opened. The sepals change from green to the same colour as the petals (in the case of the Easter lily, white), and then the sepals and petals collectively are termed the "tepals". A pretty neat adaptation.

The Easter lily is not of great medicinal importance in Canada, but it traditionally has great importance in Traditional Chinese Medicine due to its high concentration of steroidal glycosides. A word of caution: these same steroidal glycosides will cause death in cats, so if you have a beloved cat pet and enjoy Easter lilies, make sure you keep the cat and the plant separated.