Flowering Now - June 2009

[Lesley Cox]

It would never have occurred to me to think of Monotropa as a member of Ericaceae!

[Maggi Young]

It would never have occurred to me to think of Montropa as a member of Ericaceae!

Nor I!  I cannot figure out the connection.... more studying to be done..... but when it's cooler..... heatwave time in Aberdeen today!

[Regelian]

It would never have occurred to me to think of Montropa as a member of Ericaceae!

Nor I!  I cannot figure out the connection.... more studying to be done..... but when it's cooler..... heatwave time in Aberdeen today!

Threw me, too, but that's why I added that little tidbit!

[Lesley Cox]

Have you a reference Jamie? (Not that we'd THINK of disbelieving you )

[Sinchets]

I've seen it in its own family Monotropaceae, but this family together with Pyrolaceae is supposed to be evolved from Ericaceae. I seem to remember reading about Ericaceae interacting with vesicular- arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus to help gain nutrients in nutrient difficient soils. Which explains why they say that you should sow Erica seed in soil tht Ericas have already been growing in. I think the idea was that like orchids some plants within Ericaceae had become more dependent on fungus, or were using the fungus to obtain all of their nutrients from other plant hosts, and ultimately Pyrolaceae and Monotropaceae evolved.

[Regelian]

http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.2179/0008-7475(2004)069%3C0265%3AACAOMU%3E2.0.CO%3B2

lesley,

this article, which i have not completely read, is a cladistic study and notes in the title the inclusion in the Ericaceae.  There are other general references on the Wikipedia.

[Maggi Young]

Crumbs, Jamie, that article is too scientific for my overheated brain.  I remember reading that these chorophyll lacking plants were connected in some way to the "erics"... a long time ago.... I  think I must have shut the notion out of my head as being too hard to recognise!

[Lesley Cox]

If your brain's overheated and can't cope Maggi, mine can't cope because it's temporarily frozen. I'll stick to cooking.

[ranunculus]

I'm just thick   

[cohan]

Here is something you don't see every day, Montropa uniflora, a parasitic member of the Ericaceae.  It grow on my sisters property on Cape Cod, along with Cypripedium acaule.  There were different colour variants coming up as I departed, but I didn't have time to get shots.  Mainly rose tones.

these are great! they occur sporadically in alberta, i havent seen any though; my flower book lists them in their own family Monotropaceae.

[cohan]

Cohan, Rosa spinosissima is one that produces loads of black hips... perhaps it was that?  It's not too uncommon here.  (Actually, I don't even remember what colour the hips are on R. primula.... must pay attention this year!)
By the way, Rosa 'Agnes' is actually extremely hardy too - it's an old zone 2-3 standard.  (Ours is in bloom now.) 'Hansa' is another extremely hardy one... if anything survives of old plantings on an abandoned farmstead, it will be an ancient 'Hansa'.
We haven't found our Rosa spinosissima ('Altaica' and v. repens, supposedly) to be extremely fragrant here... though I have read that they ought to be... there is some fragrance but they are far outdone by many others.

it could be about anything--i'm not very rose savvy--i just know its robust, covered in single white flowers and black hips later..i will probably snitch some cuttings and/or hips at some point..lol
we have several roses my mom has had here for years, but they are all pink...need some other colours..and of course selfsown wild roses are in full swing all over the yard and everywhere else..

[cohan]

simon--i guess you probably know the tricks-- put your hand on the same level as the flowers to focus, or a piece of neutral coloured paper, so the camera has a bigger area to focus on... i know sometimes the cameras seem to have their own agenda...lol

We think the camera has given in after it overheard mention of a pending upgrade

poor camera, give it a hug
luckily cameras do more for less all the time...

[cohan]

, Montropa uniflora, a parasitic member of the Ericaceae. 

my flower book lists them in their own family Monotropaceae.
[/quote]

should have read all the way through, i see thats been fully covered

[Sinchets]

http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.2179/0008-7475(2004)069%3C0265%3AACAOMU%3E2.0.CO%3B2

lesley,

this article, which i have not completely read, is a cladistic study and notes in the title the inclusion in the Ericaceae.  There are other general references on the Wikipedia.

Well, I guess it had its own family for a while and now it's back in with its relatives. Modern times eh? Maybe it's the recession and government cutbacks. 

[gote]

Cohan, Rosa spinosissima is one that produces loads of black hips... perhaps it was that?  It's not too uncommon here.  (Actually, I don't even remember what colour the hips are on R. primula.... must pay attention this year!)

By the way, Rosa 'Agnes' is actually extremely hardy too - it's an old zone 2-3 standard.  (Ours is in bloom now.) 'Hansa' is another extremely hardy one... if anything survives of old plantings on an abandoned farmstead, it will be an ancient 'Hansa'.
We haven't found our Rosa spinosissima ('Altaica' and v. repens, supposedly) to be extremely fragrant here... though I have read that they ought to be... there is some fragrance but they are far outdone by many others.

Well Agnes hardly survives here. It is definitely a bad doer compared with the others I have listed. I cannot recommend it based on my experience of having tried a couple of times.
Göte