Dr Martin Brammah CEcol’s Post

Abies kawakamii - Ripening female cones, producing a clear resin. • A subtropical species of conifer in the family Pinaceae. Native to Taiwan. First described in 1908 by Bunzō Hayata as a variety of Abies mariesii, a high-mountain fir native to Japan; the next year it was elevated to species rank by Tokutarô Itô. Abies kawakamii is exclusively native to the island of Taiwan, and is one of the southernmost true firs, together with Abies fansipanensis, native to Vietnam, and Abies guatemalensis, from Mexico and Guatemala. It is a high-mountain species occurring in northern and central Taiwan at elevations between 2400 and 3800 metres above sea level, in association with other temperate plants, dominantly conifers, including Juniperus formosana var. formosana, Tsuga formosana, and Juniperus morrisonicola. • Reaching a height of about 16 metres, with a single straight trunk and whorled horizontal branches. The bark is smooth and resinous, gray-white, becoming gray-brown and scaly. Branchlets deeply grooved, yellowish-gray to dark brown, with brown pubescence. Buds ovoid, resinous, brown to reddish, scales obtuse, to 1 mm in diameter. Leaves linear, flat, 10-15 mm long, dark green above, whitish below, with some stomata on the upper surface near the rounded to notched apex. Pollen cones cylindrical, to 15 mm long. Seed cones oblong to cylindric, 6-7.5 × 3.5-4 cm, maturing purple, bracts hidden (about 1/2 length of seed scales), seed scales fan-shaped, 15-18 mm long. Seeds 7-9 mm long plus a 9 mm wing (Silba 1986, Huang 1994). • Climate change is likely to have a significant impact on this species. Currently it is assessed as near threatened. As stated on the website https://lnkd.in/dHsx4UtY At the pinetum, South Wales, UK. 🌲

Arrowroot petioles are an integral part of the arrowroot plant (Maranta arundinacea), a tropical herbaceous perennial prized for its starchy rhizomes. Petioles are the slender stalks that connect the leaves to the main stem of the plant. In the case of arrowroot, these petioles emerge from the base of the plant and support the broad, lance-shaped leaves that characterize the species. #Crops

Most early sown forest species grown in northern latitudes require artificial lighting to extend the photoperiod. Each species/provenance has its own critical daylength required to keep the tree from shutting down and setting a bud, although it is actually the length of the dark period that is critical. The pigment phytochrome is sensitive to the ratio of red to far-red light and is involved in regulating seedling phenology. Daylight contains a high red:far-red ratio, which converts phytochrome to the active from. In darkness, the active form slowly reverts to the inactive form, which causes the seedling to cease shoot growth and eventually form a bud. Commonly used photoperiodic lighting contains red light thus turns the switch back on, so that the seedling continues active shoot growth. The intensity of light required for photoperiodic lighting is minimal, with 8 µmol/m2/sec recommended, although certain species may require more or less. #ArbutusGroveNursery #TreeGrowing #ForestNursery #Seedling

Because the bumblebee that an orchid relies on for pollination does not exist on a remote island, the plant gets pollinated by an island wasp. Kobe University researchers found that this came at the cost of being hybridized with another orchid species adapted to being pollinated by the wasp. The finding showcases how plants in ecological relationships adapt to changing circumstances. The results, now published in the journal New Phytologist, came with a surprise. The researchers first noticed that, on Kozu Island, Goodyera henryi is pollinated by the same scoliid wasp as the closely related orchid Goodyera similis, also found on the island. While in orchids the length of the flower tube closely matches the length of the pollinating insect mouthparts, the island wasp has much shorter mouthparts than the bumblebee that pollinates Goodyera henryi on the mainland. The researchers also noticed that the orchid's flower tube was shorter on the island than the mainland. The surprise came when they compared the genetic makeup of the orchids. Suetsugu explains, "All specimens initially categorized as Goodyera henryi on Kozu Island are hybrids, leading to the absence of the pure species on the island." The research team speculate that, when Goodyera henryi first arrived on the island, it must have been visited by a wasp by chance, or precisely because the plant was not being visited by the bumblebee. https://lnkd.in/g3RjQcNU