Plant of the day is Artemesia solsoloides

Plant of the day is Artemesia solsoloides

Me taking the next picture you see below.  Trippy.

Photo Credit: Derek Lyle

A few firsts for plant of the day today.  Apologies about the hiatus but it's been a busy couple of months.  A return to normalcy is expected imminently.  This is the first plant of the day that I'll be in a photo with the plant.  There are no creative commons images for these plants and there should be.  Please cite https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/ if using.  

Taxonomy etc.:  This is apparently another playground for taxonomists.  Accepted species range from 200 to 400.  That large of a gap tells me I really don't want to get into things.  Certainly worth noting that it is a member of the Asteraceae family which, as we've recently discussed, is a massive family.  Artemisia is, of course, most recognized for its oils.  Other species, going to use common names, include wormwood, mugwort, tarragon, and sagebush.  Yes, there is a Artemisia absinthium.  Artemisia dracunculus or tarragon is popular in French cuisine.  The tidbit I really like is that some taxonomists have tried to split the genus further but phylogenetic evidence disproves this.  You may have heard me mention phylogentic evidence a time or two before but it is extremely important and valuable in the classification of plants.  It adds a much more discerning layer to classification.  Where traditionally classification was based solely on morphological characteristics, now we have the ability to look at the actual genetic heritage of plants.  It's truly a great time for plant science.  /nerdoff.

                                     

Very calcareous.  

Description:  A perennial that is considered a "basally woody shrublet" with sulcate stems.  Sulcate is a new one for me.  It means "marked with parallel grooves".  Groovy.  Leaves are, for all practical purposes, sessile.  Inner phyllaries have wide scarious-hyaline margins.   Scarious = dry and brownish in color.  Hyaline = almost like glass.  Basically, the involucre bracts are brown and see through.  As the great Donald Rumsfeld put it, "It's a definitional issue".  One of the best players.

If you really want to see the description of the plant enjoy it at the Flora of Pakistan.  Another fine offering from the Missouri Botanical Garden.  They do good things.

A little up close detail

Photo Credit: Derek Lyle

Range/Cultivation:  Found throughout much of Russia, Southern Ukraine, and Caucasus as well as Pakistan and China.  Thrives on very rocky, very well drained calcareous (alkaline) soil.  VERY well adapted to drought as you can see from the images the kind of environment it lives in.  These are images taken from its native habitat just outside Sherbakovsky Nature Park in Russia.  This is on the banks of the Volga River, which you can barely see in the photo above.  Scroll down for a real treat of a shot of the Volga.  Given its latitude it is also very tolerant of low winter temperatures.  I would surmise that it would be hardy in a number of United States climates given appropriate soil considerations.

Great color against the grey white landscape

Photo Credit: Derek Lyle

 Etc.: It was over 90F as we trekked through these areas.  Sadly, I had packed for Russia this time of year and brought all long sleeve shirts and jeans.  It was unseasonably warm unfortunately.  A swim in to Volga was sounding very appealing.

You're going to want to click this for the full affect.

Photo Credit: Derek Lyle

Plant of the day is Galatella angustissima or narrow-leaf milk Wan

Plant of the day is Galatella angustissima or narrow-leaf milk Wan

    Shown to me as Galatella angustifolia but I could not find any reference to it as such.  I believe it is likely Galatella angustissima as it is found in dry grassland steppes.  Hunting through all the various asters of the region is quite the task though, so I may be in contact with some very knowledgeable Russians for assistance.  All I was able to see was the remnants of the inflorescence but it was still a beautiful plant to see.  It seems an appropriate plant as I was out today learning the many fall asters of Missouri.  Here is something slightly different from Russia with love.

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Galatella angustissima (Tausch) Novopokr., flowers. Habitat: steppe on a plateau. Vicinity of Saratov city, Russia.

By Le.Loup.Gris

This photo was taken fairly close to the region we were visiting in Scherbakovsky Nature Park

Taxonomy, etc.:  Galatella is a member of the Asteraceae family.  The Asteraceae family is big, really big.  Something in the neighborhood of 23,600 species and 1,620 genera.  Look out your window, you can probably spot several.  Even those delicious artichokes that we all love, definitely asters.  The problem with a family this large and diverse is that the ID of many species gets VERY involved with the slightest differences in morphology at times.  Galatella was previously included in the Aster genus but was split out with the genus Tripolium.  According to scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the anatomical differences (especially in the epidermis of the leaf blade) warrants the attribution of these genera.  (Article relating to that stuff).  One thing I've already noticed in my brief experience with international botany is the large amount of synonyms used for various species.  Botany truly should be a worldwide collaboration.  

For this particular genera alone there are about 40-50 species found in C and S Europe and NE Asia: 11 species in China.

Description:  Thanks Flora of China (MBG) project for the help on this one.  Not only do they have a great write-up on the species but the genera as well, with a wonderful key.  I'm not going to get into great detail here but here are the highlights.  10-50cm tall with sessile leaves, not gland-dotted.  Lower leaves with 3 veins, upper leaves with 1 vein.  Capitula are numerous.  What are capitula you ask?  Why the plural of capitulum or head.  See below for a friendly and colorful illustration of some of that juicy composite goodness.  I was also looking at differences in the phyllaries of Liatris species today.  Fun stuff.  Achenes (dry fruit covering the seed) are oblong with a yellowish pappus.  What's a pappus?  Who's your pappus?  See below.

                                        

                                    

Random musings:  I have a picture taken on my phone and labeled at the time of taking as Galatella.  It shows a much different looking plant, mostly because of the yellow flowers.  Seems pretty clear its not G. angustissima.  There may be some yellow Galatella in the area but certainly not the purple one I'm referencing.  I'll have to hunt through photos and hopefully peg these in fall form. 

Anyways, a bit more of a serious post this time to get back into things.  But these next few weeks will feature plants of Russia, specifically areas near and around the Volgograd area.

Enjoy!