Plant Image Collection

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abot95-10 abot95-10

Field botanists often have clever ways to identify species that are difficult to distinguish from each other without a microscope or reference to herbarium specimens. Usually the scientific basis or mechanism of such a

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abot95-11 abot95-11

Buds of yellow buckeye (Aesculus flava, Sapindaceae) showing expanding new leaves under an open canopy in early spring (ca. 15 March) Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, USA. Yellow buckeye is the earliest tree species to produce a flush of new leaves in the southern Appalachians. Early leaf emergence increases light capture before canopy closure and may provide a substantial

copyright: Omar R. Lopez, BSA
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Image Ecology Quick view Details
abot95-12 abot95-12

Leaf nectary of Prockia crucis P. Browne ex. L. (Salicaceae) with a drop of sucrose-rich, high-energy nectar, which may be attractive to visitors. Some species of aggressive ants get nectar from extrafloral nectaries, meanwhile protecting the plant's leaves. This interaction may be an important strategy to enhance the adaptive success of the species. These highly structured nectaries are similar to the salicoids teeth of the Populus and Salix species, lending strong support to the phylogenetic proximity of these clades.

For further detail: see Thadeo et al.

copyright: Renata M. S. A. Meira, BSA
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Image Anatomy and Morphology Quick view Details
abot96-01 abot96-01

Many of the portraits of Charles Darwin have become iconic

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Image Evolution Quick view Details
abot96-02 abot96-02

Stem cross section of Pereskia guamacho, a member of the eight-species cactus lineage hypothesized to be sister to the remaining 1800 or so species of Cactaceae. Pereskia guamacho is a leafy, dry-forest tree lacking many anatomical traits, such as stem succulence, mucilage cells, delayed periderm, and stem stomata, that are highly conserved in most other cacti. Rather than the evolution of a single

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abot96-03 abot96-03

Flowered trunk of an old tree of the New Caledonian endemic Ixora cauliflora in a small population in a gallery forest of the N

copyright: Botanical Society of America
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abot96-04 abot96-04

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the life cycle of Arabidopsis thaliana does not consist of a vegetative rosette that is the source of carbon production followed by a reproductive inflorescence that is a carbon sink. Earley et al. show instead that the inflorescence contributes much of the lifetime carbon gain, from 36 to 93%, depending on the genotype, and with much less water lost per unit carbon gained compared to the rosette. They suggest that the switch from rosette to inflorescence is an ontogenetic niche shift that allows the plant to successively exploit the warm air at the soil boundary during the cool season and escape into the freely moving air in warm season. This shift also results in a more water-use efficient plant during the warm season.

For further detail, see: Earley et al.

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abot96-05 abot96-05

Differential interference contrast (DIC) image (

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abot96-06 abot96-06

Stanleya pinnata (prince's plume) can hyperaccumulate the toxic element selenium (Se) up to 0.5% of its dry mass in its natural habitat in the western United States. In a 2-year manipulative field experiment to test whether S. pinnata uses Se as an elemental defense against one of its native mammalian herbivores, the blacktailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus), plants with high Se concentrations had higher survival rates and less herbivory than low-Se counterparts when planted in black-tailed prairie dog towns. These results give better insight into the evolution of plant Se hyperaccumulation, suggesting a role for herbivory as a possible selection pressure. From an applied perspective, plants that accumulate Se may be cultivated for phytoremediation or as fortified foods, and this study helps assess the associated risk of Se moving up the food chain.

For further detail, see: Freeman et al.

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abot96-07 abot96-07

An unidentified twining liana from French Guiana. Lianas are often difficult to identify because the leaves and flowers may be high in the canopy. Lianas are an important component of the forest where they may represent 10 to 45% of woody stems in some tropical forests, and comprise as much as 40% of the diversity of woody species. Rooted in the soil, climbing plants have evolved a large diversity of strategies to ascend supports and reach light in the canopy. Some species may twine around supports (see videos in the online Supplemental Data) and form a strikingly uniform helix, which will squeeze the host and provide stability under gravitational loads; others use sensitive or sticky organs to cling onto the surrounding vegetation, or hooks to anchor to bark or small branches. For lianas, anything and everything in relation to host plants can be used for mechanical stability with little expenditure in structural support. This fascinating aspect of climbing plants has long attracted the attention of botanists since Darwin's seminal work

copyright: BSA, S. Isnard
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abot96-08 abot96-08

Numerous complex mathematical theories have been proposed to explain why annual growth rates of plants scale as the 3/4 power of total body mass, why total leaf mass per plant scales as the square of trunk diameter, and why a host of other widely reported ecological phenomena occur. In this issue, Hammond and Niklas unveil a new computer model, called SERA (for spatially explicit reiterative algorithm), which accurately predicts these and many other scaling relationships as plants are forced to conform mathematically to a few very simple physical principles while they compete for light and space. In each SERA simulation, tree canopies are depicted as thinshelled hemispheres and trunks are modeled as simple, untapered cylinders that increase in girth as simulated plants age. A hypothetical landscape is randomly seeded with a specified number of propagules and monitored during every growing season to assess biomass- and age-dependent allometric relationships. A graphic module allows a population or community to be observed at any stage in its growth as old plants die and new ones propagate. In this image, the observer is standing at ground level and looking up into a forest composed of a single species mathematically modeled to mimic the allometry of a population of Abies alba.

For further detail, see: Hammond and Niklas

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abot96-09 abot96-09

Cuscuta (dodders) species are obligate parasitic plants with stems that resemble yellow-orange spaghetti. Their seedlings can detect and select among potential hosts using volatile chemical cues. Dodders can transfer viruses, mycoplasmas, and macromolecules from one host to another, and they are involved in the translocation of mRNA from their hosts and in horizontal gene transfer spanning deep phylogenetic distances. Similar to other parasitic plants, Cuscuta spp. have been described as keystone species and as

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abot96-10 abot96-10

Longitudinal section of developing caryopsis of maize ancestor, teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis, caryopsis diameter cca. 3 mm). Teosinte plants differ significantly from domesticated maize Zea mays ssp. mays. Teosinte plants have many lateral branches with terminal male inflorescences, which closely resemble maize tassels, and small female inflorescences or

copyright: BSA, Ales Kladnik
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abot96-11 abot96-11

Foliage of Papuacedrus prechilensis (Berry) Wilf et al., comb. nov. (Cupressaceae), from the middle Eocene R

copyright: BSA, P. Wilf
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abot96-12 abot96-12

Reproductive stem of Monotropsis odorata (sweet pine sap; Ericaceae), a nonphotosynthetic plant endemic to the southeastern United States. As a myco-heterotroph, M. odorata obtains carbon resources from associated mycorrhizal fungi and has a highly reduced vegetative morphology consisting of an underground root mass that produces one to many diminutive reproductive stems (3.5

copyright: BSA, Matthew R. Klooster
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bwebster bwebster Dr. Barbara Webster enters the local political scene copyright: Barbara Webster, BSA
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CA06-001 CA06-001 The arid habitat of the Antelope Valley California Poppy Preserve, USA, appears dry and lifeless for much of the year, but following the rainy season it bursts with the brilliant colors of the spring wildflower bloom. Many insects can be seen flying about pollinating flowers as they collect nectar and pollen. In this photo, a hover fly can be seen collecting pollen from a Phacelia (Hydrophyllaceae) flower. The fly has a short thick vacuum-like mouth, which it uses to suck up pollen from the flower anther. Although hover flies eat much of the pollen they collect, they also provide a valuable service to flowers by transferring pollen from one flower to another. copyright: Jacobsen, BSA
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Image Pollination Ecology Quick view Details
ca06-002 ca06-002 Scientific Description/Explanation: The genus Garrya Dougl. ex Lindl. [See "Terms From Scientific Description," below, for explanations of terms in italics] (Garryaceae) contains 15 species of winter-blooming, wind-pollinated, dioecious evergreen trees and shrubs distributed in North America (including Mexico), Central America, and the Caribbean Islands. The genus Garrya is found only in the New World, but is closely related to the genus Aucuba, which is native to China and Japan. The genus Garrya is thought to represent a relatively recent introduction to the New World, which probably migrated from Asia over a high-latitude land-bridge sometime during the last twenty million years. Garrya fremontii is a widespread species that occurs from central California to Washington State. It is most abundant at middle and high elevations (1000-3000 meters) in parts of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Pacific Coast Ranges, and the Cascade Range. It occupies a diversity of habitats, from chaparral and oak woodland to coniferous forests. The plant in the photograph is part of a population of Garrya fremontii growing on Doe Mill Ridge in Butte County, California, about 15 kilometers north-northeast of the town of Chico. These plants are part of a dense chaparral community composed mainly of species of Arctostaphylos (manzanita) and Ceanothus. This community is strongly fire regulated, with fires occurring about every seven to ten years. Garrya fremontii, along with many other members of this chaparral community, survives fire by re-sprouting from a buried root-crown, or lignotuber. It also regenerates from seeds deposited in the soil seed-bank. Garrya fremontii is part of a complex of species from western North America, within which the species are very difficult to differentiate. Garrya fremontii intergrades morphologically with Garrya flavescens in the coast ranges of California, which may indicate that these two taxa are not distinct. In addition, preliminary results using DNA sequence data (see URL below) suggest that there is very little genetic variation among species of Garrya in California. Like all species in the genus, Garrya fremontii flowers during the late winter, long before most plants have begun their growing season. The flowers are born in pendulous inflorescences, as shown in the image, and have a unique, highly reduced structure. In female inflorescences the flowers are arranged in successive groups that are each partially surrounded by a bract. In the photograph, these bracts are obvious as the greenish, triangular flaps that cover the bases of the silky, developing ovaries. Opposite bracts sometimes fuse, forming a cup that surrounds multiple groups of flowers. Individual female flowers lack almost all vestiges of a corolla or calyx, although minute remnants of these structures are sometimes present near the base of the styles. The presence of these perianth remnants is usually taken as evidence that the ovaries of Garrya fremontii are inferior. The ovaries of all Garrya species are composed of two carpels, and thus produce two seeds. The styles of Garrya fremontii are characteristically elongated and thin, often recurving toward the inflorescence axis, which gives the appearance of a "handle-bar mustache." This character is clearly visible in the image, although some of the styles have dried up and broken off, as the inflorescence in the image is several weeks old and past the fertilization stage. Male inflorescences are not shown in the image, but male plants were present in the vicinity of the pictured plant. Male inflorescences are also morphologically reduced, and specialized for wind pollination. These adaptations include a special chamber formed from the distally fused perianth members that is thought to aid in preventing desiccation of the pollen. The male inflorescence is also less rigid than the female inflorescence, which enables it to flex with the wind currents. Most species of Garrya flower well before the time when potential pollinators are active, sometimes while snow is still on the ground, so scientists have inferred that they are wind pollinated. The fruits of Garrya fremontii mature in the fall, and are dark blue in color. It is not certain what the primary dispersal agent of this plant may be, but species of Neotoma (wood rats) are known to collect them. Overall, Garrya fremontii, and the genus Garrya in general, present an intriguing combination of highly derived morphological traits, unusual ecology, and potentially complex genealogical and geographical patterns going back to the Old World. Garrya also takes readily to cultivation, and several species and hybrids are popular landscape plants in the Western United States.
TERMS FROM THE EXPLANATION
<font color="#666666">Garrya</font> - The scientific name of any organism should always be underlined or printed in italics. The scientific name of an organism always has two parts, the genus name (Garrya, for instance), and the species name (fremontii, for instance). Because of the parts of speech corresponding to these two words, and convention, the first is always capitalized, while the latter is never capitalized.
<font color="#666666">Dougl. ex Lindl</font> - In plant taxonomic treatments, papers, floras, labels, etc., the name of a plant taxon is often given along with the name of the authority for that taxon (the author of the taxon name). In the case of the genus Garrya, the authority is Lindley, who was the first to validly publish (sanction) the name Garrya, which had been proposed, but not validly published, by Douglas.
<font color="#666666">Dioecious</font> - Most plants have bisexual flowers, with male and female parts combined within the same structure. However, some taxa have the male and female parts separated into different flowers. If both female and male flowers occur on the same plant, then the species is known as monoecious. If the flowers are born on separate plants, analogous to the two-sex system of many animals, then the plant is known as dioecious.
<font color="#666666">DNA sequence</font> - DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) is the information-carrying molecule of living things. DNA, which encodes information for building proteins, is the basis for almost all of the characteristics of a given organism, as expressed during development. Scientists use DNA to gain insight into the history of life on earth, and the dynamics of living systems. This is possible because of the unique hereditary role of DNA, which accumulates errors in living organisms, some of which are passed on to subsequent generations. DNA can be extracted from living organisms and its code, or sequence, can be read using specialized techniques. This information may be used in a statistical fashion to infer the genealogy of a group of organisms, such as a genus or species of plant.
<font color="#666666">Inflorescence</font> - The reproductive part of a plant, including all flowers and the stems on which they are born, is called an inflorescence. There is considerable diversity in inflorescence structure among flowering plants. A daisy "flower," for instance, is really an inflorescence containing several hundred individual flowers.
<font color="#666666">Bract, carpel, ovary, corolla, calyx, perianth, style</font> - Most flowers are composed of four "whorls" of parts. (1) The female parts, or carpels, which each have an ovary as well as a stigma (the receptive surface for pollen) that is born on the end of a style. (2) The male parts, or stamens, which are made up of pollen-bearing anthers on the end of filaments. (3) The petals, which together are known as the corolla. (4) The sepals, which are typically green and collectively called the calyx. The calyx and corolla are together known as the perianth. All of these flower parts are attached to a receptacle, which is often born on the end of a stalk called the pedicel. This pedicel is often subtended by (found immediately above) a leaf-like organ called a bract. All of the amazing and beautiful diversity of flower morphology is simply variation on this theme of four whorls and subtending elements.
<font color="#666666">Inferior</font> - When the corolla and calyx become fused to the walls of the carpels so that the stamens, anthers, and stigmas appear anatomically above the ovary, rather than below it, then the ovaries of that flower are termed inferior. Normal ovaries are termed superior. An apple, for example, is derived from a fertilized flower with inferior ovaries. The perianth, stamens, and styles are often visible in the depression on the distal end of the apple (opposite the stem, or pedicel).
<font color="#666666">Distally</font> - In anatomical terms, an organ that is far from a point of reference is distal, while an organ that is near is proximal. Your hand, for instance, is on the distal end of your arm. These terms are used universally in discussions of both animal and plant anatomy.
<font color="#666666">Derived</font> - Genealogies of organisms are also known as phylogenies. Humans, apes, and monkeys, for instance, are all related, and the specific genealogical relationships between them, as inferred from morphological traits or DNA sequence variation, can be expressed as a branching, tree-like phylogeny, in which the earliest-branching lineages (those appearing lowest on the tree) are considered as ancestral, and the most recent, latest branching lineages are considered as derived.
REFERENCE MATERIAL
Bremer, B., Bremer, K., Heidari, N., Erixon, P., Olmstead, R.G., Anderberg, A.A., Källersjö, M., & Barkhordarian, E. 2002. Phylogenetics of asterids based on 3 coding and 3 non-coding chloroplast DNA markers and the utility of non-coding DNA at higher taxonomic levels. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 24: 274-301.
Dahling, G.V. 1978. Systematics and evolution of Garrya. Contributions from the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University 209: 1-104.
Eyde, R.H. 1964. Inferior ovary and generic affinities of Garrya. American Journal of Botany 51: 1083-1092.
Graham, A. 1999. The tertiary history of the northern temperate element in the northern Latin American biota. American Journal of Botany 86: 32-38.
Hileman, L.C., Vasey, M.C., & Parker, V.T. 2001. Phylogeny and biogeography of the Arbutoideae (Ericaceae): implications for the Madrean-Tethyan hypothesis. Systematic Botany 26: 131-143.
Liston, A. 2003. A new interpretation of floral morphology in Garrya (Garryaceae). Taxon 52: 271 276.
Oxelman, B., Yoshikawa, N., McConaughy, B.L., Luo, J., Denton, A.L., & Hall, B.D. 2004. RPB2 gene phylogeny in flowering plants, with particular emphasis on asterids. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 32: 462-479.
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Image Vascular plant systematics Quick view Details
CA06-003 CA06-003 Tree ferns occur throughout the world in predominantly tropical habitats. The group has a long history and is known since the Jurassic, ca. 160 million years ago. Fossils of this family, Cyatheaceae, are usually carbon imprints (called compression fossils) of leaves. Other fossils, such as the stems of tree ferns, are petrified, with the organic plant material mostly replaced by minerals. This image of the indusium of Cyathea cranhamii Smith, Rothwell et Stockey shows sporangia with spores. Spores are triangular with a trilete mark. The sporangia have areas with thickened cell walls (the annulus), which help in dehiscence (the opening of the sporangium) and spore dispersal. Sporangial stalks are visible as small clusters of four to six cells in cross section. Cyathea cranhamii comes from late Cretaceous (ca. 130 million years ago) sediments of British Columbia, Canada and represents the first known permineralized reproductive tree fern material. copyright: Selena, BSA
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Image Paleobotany Quick view Details
ca06-004 ca06-004 This is a photograph of Ledothamnus sessiliflorus N.E. Brown (Ericaceae: blueberry family). The genus of seven species (Luteyn 1995) is found only in the Guiana Highlands of northern South America, a region known for its pristine habitat and highly endemic flora. Ledothamnus was thought to be endemic to tepui summits of the Venezuelan Guyana. During the summer of 2004, it was collected in Guyana by Dr. David Clarke (Univ. of North Carolina-Asheville), Stephen Stern (Univ. of Utah), Diana Gittens (Univ. of Guyana), Amerindian collaborators, and myself from the summit of Mt. Maringma. Maringma, slightly east of Mt. Roraima, is the highest tepui wholly within Guyana (2200 m / 7200 ft.) and was previously unexplored biologically. Its tepui summit hosts genuine cloud forests characterized by quaking bogs, rocky outcrops, and dense, tangled vegetation. At 5 copyright: -
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Image Conant Award Quick view Details