Plant of the day is: Spartium junceum or Spanish broom

Plant of the day is: Spartium junceum or Spanish broom

Well it has a yellow flower and it is from Spain, so I like those things.  Invasive on the west coast, so I don't like that.  Not the plants fault though, I sometimes have to remind myself to not be annoyed AT a plant, and remind myself that it was just a dumb humans fault I have to contend with it.

Taxonomy, etc:  A member of the Fabaceae family, Spartium junceum is the sole member of the monotypic genus Spartium.  There are a whole slew of synonyms and unresolved listings for other species of Spartium, but the taxonomists apparently just aren't having it.  Sadly within the last few mintues I haven't found much else of taxonomic interest so I'll make a reference to the flower structure of legumes, because they are usually VERY identifiable by their flowers.  Here is a diagram showing one of their distinctive flowers.  NOT a Spartium ...just an illustrative picture.  The notable feature is the banner and keel of the flower.

Wisteria sinensis flower, to give credit to the plant.

CC BY-SA 3.0

Habitat:  Originally a native of the Mediterranean region and southewest Asia and and northwest Africa.  Now it exists in several places throughout the world, it is found here in the United States along the western seaboard and is listed as invasive and/or a noxious weed in most of those states.  Also listed in Hawaii as well, I don't think they want it.  Here is a fun map of California invasive info.  http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Spartium+junceum

Description:  Alright, now to the fun part about the plant, because it is an interesting and beautiful plant.  It is one of 4 nonnative invasive species that occur in North America.  It is a perennial shrub that grows between 3-5m, usually more along the 3 side I should think.  Stems are long, slender, and erect with very little branching, making for a nice habit.  The stems are cylindrical which harkens back to its species designation as junceum means 'rush like' ...like rushes Juncus.  It's got Juncus in the trunkus.  Stems are green when young and eventually develop a more woody look.  Leaves are very small and ephemeral and tend to only remain on the plant for about 4 months or so.  Why you ask?  Well, it's a pretty drought tolerant plant and leaves are a big source of transpirational loss.  The solution, just go ahead and photosynthesize right out of that stem, they do that.  Flowers are yellow about 1-2cm across and fairly good sized seed pods of 8-10cm can open with an audible crack when mature.  Pods have around 10 to 15 seeds in them.  Neat.  I wanna hear one.  This of course helps eject the seed which remains present in the soil or soil bank, as it is called, for several years, making control of established areas difficult.  The roots, apparently change quite a bit dependent on the slope and type of soil, which is laudable.  

Culture:  Monrovia lists this as zone 7-10 while other sites list it as zone 8 hardy.  In all likelihood Saint Louis is still too cold for this plant to hang around as a perennial.  Any given year could produce a winter cold enough to really knock it back.  How well seeds handle exposed cold, I don't know.  They like it hot, dry, and sunny.  Situate appropriately.  Does not appreciate root disturbance and requires a bit larger container if you are wanting to start from seed.  Don't start in a seed tray, I'll say that.  

Great info from the forest service on this, as they've done some assessments for fire potential.  Dense colonies of this can form, and provide very good tinder for forest fires during periods of drought.

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/spajun/all.html

Fun (or not so fun) facts:

• Originally planted in California in the ornamental trade in 1848 in San Francisco.  
• In the 1930s it was planted along mountain highways in southern Californa.  Great idea!
• Humans are, historically speaking, dumb when it comes to moving plants.
• LESS of an invasive species than the other brooms, Scotch (Cytisus scoparius) and French (Genista monspessulana).
• Branches can be made into brooms (ahhhh broom...there it is).
• Yellow die can be made from the flower.
• An oil from the flowers is used in perfumes.

That's it for now really I suppose, if you do try it, situate it in a protected but sunny position (tall order I know) and do keep an eye out for seedlings and by all means, let me know if you see any, I'm curious.

Great image of the habit.

CC BY-SA 3.0 Hans Hillewaert

Up close on the flowers, very leguminous

CC BY-SA 3.0 Kurt Stuber

Even better shot of the flowers, a good one.

CC BY-SA 2.5 Photo Credit: שריף עסאקלה

I believe the above picture was taken from the Maghar village in Israel.  Neat.

Plant of the day is: Kitaibelia vitifolia or ??

Plant of the day is: Kitaibelia vitifolia or Cedar Cup

(kit-ay-BEE-luh    vy-tee-FO-lee-uh)

I'm not really trying to focus down the mallows here but I came across this genus in my travels and went..."uhhhh what is that!?".  So when I don't know something, I look it up.  It's a thing, it works.  Actually the Ontario Rock Garden's Plant of the Month for February of 2014.

http://www.onrockgarden.com/plant_of_the_month/2014-02

Taxonomy, etc:  Like I mentioned, it is a member of the Mallow family.  It is a genus of all of 3 species and only 1 of them is accepted, so basically I don't feel so bad about not knowing it.  The genus was named after Paul Kitaibel, and 19th century Hungarian botanist.  The common name is a little unclear, I've seen it as Yugoslavian Hibiscus, Russian Hibiscus, chalice, cedar cup and vine-leaved Kitaibelia.  Previously, this monotypic genus was include with Malope and Palaua but are distinguished by the precense of a schizocarpous fruit with the mericarps arranged spirally or in several superimposed whorls.  Yeah, you know, that.  Oye.  We'll do two parts of that.

1.  Schizocarpous:  A dry fruit that, when mature, splits into mericarps
2.  Mericarp:  A carpel with one seed (generally)
3.  Carpel:  The entire structure of the stigma, style, and ovary.

Let me google illustrative examples for you.

User: Denis.prevot CC BY-SA 3.0

Description:  This particular plant is a hardy perennial with a height of about 2m up to maybe 2.5m.  They are all and upright so not very wide, probably around a meter.  Flowers are white to sometimes a little light pink and around here will flower in late August to late October, which is a great time of year for a big plant with big white flowers.  Petals are fringed at the centers and stamens are a nice looking yellow that surround the style.  The five green sepals have plenty of space to show through between the petals, which is a nice look I think.  Flowers are born from the leaf axis and are singly produced or sometimes in 2's or 3's.  Leaves ...you guess it they kind of look like grape leaves.

Range:  Yugoslavia, Croatia, Balkans (Levant-ish)

Culture:  Will take part sun to full sun.  A few pictures I've seen have it situated in some pretty good shade.  My bet is that it will grow fine (maybe even better) in shade with decently moist shade, but it probably won't give you as good of a flower show.  For best results, try to aim on a spot that gets some good direct sun for a few hours and some decent shade in the afternoon.  It likes to be a little on the moist side, but may be pretty tough, who knows.  Mallows in general tend to surprise me in their flexibility when dealing with water.  Listed as zone 5-8 from several sites so I feel that's likely accurate.  The great thing about this plant is it's size, it's pretty uncommon to find a herbaceous perennial of this size that will tolerate shade well.   Some notes I've read on this say it actually prefers nitrogen poor soils, so maybe don't baby it too much, cut it loose.

Propagation:  I've read a few different things, I've seen references of 6 month 40F stratification (which is likely absolutely bonkers) to immediately sowing.  Here is what I've tried, results pending:  scraped a bit with sandpaper (seeds are somewhat small and difficult to really nick well) and then soaked for 2 days.  We shall see.

Obtaining:  You will be very hard pressed to find this in a nursery or garden center.  You CAN however, easily get seed from several sources.  Likely a fairly easily seedling to get going, and it looks like it is well worth the effort.  Definitely a plant worth going out on a limb for.

Enjoy.

User: Rolf Engstrand  CC BY-SA 3.0

Fun facts:

• Has some possibly antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds.
• Try cutting back to promote bushiness.    
• Can be found around the Lower Danube, which is a river in Europe.  A neat one.
• Apparently, extracts of this plant may be an alternative for curing meats.  Nitrites and all, ya know, prolly not the best for you.  Here is an abstract.  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0309174014000758

Plant of the day is: Kalmia latifolia or mountain laurel

Plant of the day is: Kalmia latifolia or mountain laurel

The Ericaceae or heath/heather family is one of my weaker families in terms of plants I can associate.  Someone was kind enough to point out today that this plant doesn't grow all that far from here and is certainly worth hunting down on a hike through the forests of the east.

Taxonomy/etc.:  As I mentioned it is a member of the Ericaceae family whose members generally prefer acidic soils and/or infertile growing conditions.  It is a pretty big family with 151 recognized genera and around somewhere between 3,500 and 4,000 species depending on the count of infraspecific names.  Infraspecific you ask?  Taxonomists love to break down the variations in species even farther with a subspecies, Cannabis sativa subsp. indica would be a great example.  Sometimes these divisions are clearly warranted and others I'm sure are just absolute nonsense.  But anyways, cranberry, blueberry, huckleberry, azalea, and rhododendron are all key members of the family.  The family name is earned from the genus Erica.

Description:  Leaves are elliptic, alternate, leathery, and dark glossy evergreen above and the bottom of the leaf is a yellow green.  Has some truly wonderful flowers that you can find in a variety of colors but generally white to pink.  Flowers occur in the spring.  Generally grows as a dense rounded shrub somewhere between 1.5 and 4.5 high and wide.  In its natural range I'm sure it grows much larger than it would ever get here in Saint Louis.  In it's natural range it can reportedly get up to 30 feet tall.  I'd love to see one that large in flower...some day.  Flowers are corymbs (similar to a panicle but with the lower flowers having longer stems (peduncles)) that are about 15 cm across.  Each individual flower is about 2.5 cm across which as I'm sure you all know is about 1". 

Range:  I really feel lazy on this one and I may just start doing this, because let's face it, it's a MUCH better description than words and all you have to do is click on this:  http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=KALA

Culture:  Think along the same lines as Azaleas and Rhododendrons, they're pretty close in terms of requirements.  They prefer acidic soil of 4.5 to 5.5 (mostly b/c they can't take up Fe at higher pH...ahhhh science), moist soil but soil that is also well drained and not stagnantly wet.  Raised beds or hilly areas will help with the growth but do keep in mind they will dry out faster and may require some supplemental water (definitely here in a Saint Louis summer).  If growing from seed, it has been found that seed aged 2-4 years old is still 71% viable, so that is a plus.  After 8 years it's about 20%.  Stratification greatly increases germination, a 40F strat for 8 weeks increases germination % by 40%.  Just put em in the fridge for awhile.  Here's more info than you ever wanted to know about this plant...

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/kallat/all.html

Fun facts!:  

• Linnaeus (yeah, THAT Linnaeus) named the genus after Pehr Kalm who sent him samples in the 18th century.  
• Has been called spoonwood because native Americans used to make spoons out of it.
• A very toxic plant, even honey that is made with it is toxic and bitter tasting.
• State flower of Connecticut

Want to see one?  I'll be trying to verify this but the Missouri Botanical Garden may have one alive in the Rhododendron Garden http://livingcollections.org/mobot/taxon/279967?tab=accessions .  Isn't that a great tool?  Now you know.  Find any plant you want in the garden.

Also, making you lot work for the photos, as it takes some work to do all legal and proper like.  Some great thicket like growth on the bottom.  Love it.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Cillas

CC BY-SA 3.0

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Eric_in_SF

CC BY-SA 3.0

Chris M Morris - https://www.flickr.com/people/79666107@N00

CC BY 2.0

Plant of the day is: Lavatera thuringiaca or tree lavatera

Plant of the day is: Lavatera thuringiaca or tree lavatera

I've had the pleasure of walking past several Hibiscus lasiocarpus or rose mallows this summer on a near daily basis and it has been a real treat.  While not a native like H. lasiocarpus, Lavatera thuringiaca has some fantastic looking flowers and, I think, some neat foliage.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Nordelch

Taxonomy, etc.:  Lavatera thuringiaca is a member of the Malvaceae, or mallow, family.  While Wiki will try to convince you there are as many as 25 species, theplantlist.org only shows 13 species as recognized.  The genus is named after the Lavater brothers, 17th century Swiss physicians and naturalists.  The trend of physicians and botanists is rather absurd if you start looking.  This particular species is more Mediterranean but there are a few in central and eastern Asia, California and Mexico, and Australia.  Sadly a few species have naturalized in places they shouldn't be.  Lavatera thuringiaca itself is listed as introduced in much of Canada, Wyoming, North Dakota, and Minnesota.  Many L. thuringiaca listed in trade are likely hybrids between it and L. olbia and are supposed to be named Lavatera x clementii.  A few cultivars are RHS Award of Garden Merit winners.  

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benutzer:Botaurus_stellaris

Description:  Lavatera thuringiaca is a tomentose (matted hairy) sub shrub (small shrub often with wood only near the bottom).  I've seen the leaves described as cordate (heart shaped) but they are really more palmately lobed with 3-5 lobes.  The leaves almost remind me of a red maple.  Flowers, as you can see are purplish pink and have 5 petals with an interesting little notch in them.  Can actually grow fairly large up to almost 2 meters in heigh and 1 meter in width (I'm going to convert all of you to the metric system yet!).  

Native Range:  S.E. Europe to W. Asia - Armenia to Caucasia.  L. thuringiaca subsp. thuringiaca occupies most of that range noted above and has upper leaves bluntly lobed while L. thuringiaca subsp ambigua is found in Southern France, Italy, and the western Balkans and has upper leaves that are acutely (sharply) lobed.

Culture:  Reports of hardiness shift between 6 and 7 to 10.  PFAF.org lists it as hardy to -20C (alright it's -4F) which is certainly possible here in Saint Louis on any given year. Can grow in a fairly wide range of soils but does need full sun.  Overly fertile soil can often promote too much vegetative growth and steal from that wonderful show of flowers.  The top growth will often die back during cold weather and it can be cut (reportedly! don't quote me) be cut back to the ground any time between late autumn and spring. Fairly easily propagated via seed and possibly soft cuttings in the spring.

Uses:  Technically has some edible parts that don't appear to be particularly tasty.  Does however have some great fiber that you can get from the stems to make ...stuff you'd make with stringy stuff?  The moth Bacculatrix lavaterella use them as a host plant by mining the leaves.  If you're in France, Sardinia, or Sicily in December and happen to see these ...look out for some larvae.  But honestly, with a habit and flower like that, it would be a little crazy not to try and cultivate a plant like this just for the flowers and mass appeal right?

Enjoy.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Franz_Xaver

Random musing on mallows.  Chances are, you see a Hibiscus syriacus or rose of Sharon on a near daily basis.  It's almost easy to tune them out but I do my best to notice and appreciate.  Hibiscus seem to be on quite the annual use kick as well, with some very unique cultivars available.  

Additional material:  

http://www.malvaceae.info/Genera/Lavatera/herbaceous.html

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Lavatera+thuringiaca

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavatera_thuringiaca

http://www.perennials.com/plants/lavatera-thuringiaca.html

Plant of the day is: Hypericum coris or Heath-leaved St. John's wort

Plant of the day is: Hypericum coris or Heath-leaved St. John's wort.

Yellow is by far one of my favorite colors of flowers, something about the reminder of the sun.  That and the insects generally love the color as well.  The late show of the goldenrods is a bittersweet reminder that the fall is right around the corner.  With that being said, still some time to enjoy the summer and delve into an interesting species of Hypericum or St. John's wort.

Taxonomy:  Hypericum is the type genus for the family Hypericaceae which is sometimes included in the Clusiaceae family.  The family contains about 11 recognized genera, all others of which I have absolutely no clue what they are.  Time for some homework on this one.  The genus Thornea better have thorns though!  Within the genus Hypericum there are about 490 species, making it a fairly large genus with a nearly worldwide distribution.

Description:  A small evergreen shrub that only grows about a foot wide by a foot high.  Leaves are narrow and almost needle-like in appearance.  Leaves are opposite and occur in whorls of four to six leaves.  Flowers are obviously yellow and occur in terminal clusters with 5 petals and numerous prominent stamens.  The fruit is a dry capsule which splits to release numerous small seeds, very small seeds indeed. 

Native Habitat:  Found throughout the South of Europe and many parts of the Levant.  Grows on the hilly parts of the island of Crete.  Ahhh Crete, someday we shall meet.

Culture:  A good plant for a rock garden.  Needs full sun with well drained soil.  Is hardy from about zones 4-9.  One book reference mentions an equal parts rough loam, sand, and grit situated between two stones.  From all the pictures I've seen, very rocky places should be investigated for H. coris.  Despite the drainage requirements it does like a little water.  Easily grown from seed (no significant dormancy that I can tell) and can be propagated from cuttings as well.  

Here are some pictures.  Enjoy.

Image Credit: Kurt Stuber GFDL

Image Credit: Kurt Stuber GFDL

Image Credit: Ghislain Chenais GFDL