Category: Friday puzzle

Green mystery disk identified!

Initially I was disappointed that no one answered the question…then Paul W. emailed to say that the post wasn’t accepting comments.  We’re not sure why that happened, but Paul and perhaps many of you knew this was part of the flower of Sarracenia flava – the yellow pitcher plant:

I think this is a stunning flower whose floral structure promotes cross-pollination.  Insects crawl in between the long yellow petals and the green "umbrella" to enter the flower and reach the pollen:

Before they reach the anthers, however, their backs rub up against the stigma, which are five tiny points at the "spokes" of the umbrella.  Pollen already on their backs will be transferred to the stigma before new pollen is gathered, so that the chances of selfing are reduced:

So thanks, Paul, for being so persistant that you emailed me to supply the answer and alert me to the comment fail!

Spruce brown-out solved

Gall adelgids are certainly a problem in these parts, especially on blue spruce.  But the ‘problem’ in this case is not a pest.  This year, as in several recent years, spruces are developing copious amounts of pollen cones.  Once the pollen is shed, the cones dry up and turn brown.  Many homeowners mistake these for insect galls or sign of some other pest activity.
In many conifers, pollen cones occur on the lower portion of the crown while seed cones occur in the upper third as an evolutionary adaptation to reduce selfing.

Friday Quiz: Spruce brown-out?

We’re beginning to see signs that we may be getting a lot of calls on spruces this year similar ones we experienced a couple of years ago.   Homeowners and landscapers are calling in with reports of brown ‘growths’ on spruces – particularly white spruce and some on Colorado blue spruce.  The growths can be quite noticeable, even from a distance and cause trees to take on a brownish cast; usually most prevalent on the lower 2/3rds or so of the crown.  What’s going on?

 

Note: I also discuss this problem in my article in this week’s MSU Extension Nursery and Landscape CAT Alert – but don’t go there ‘til you’ve chimed in here.  Otherwise we call that ‘not in the spirit of the challenge’.

Friday puzzle untangled

A few of you bravely hazarded guesses about this plant, and while it is a contorted specimen, it’s actually Ulmus glabra ‘Camperdownii’, otherwise known as Camperdown elm.  Here’s a photo of a lovely example at Marymoor Park near Seattle:

As plant geeks already know, this odd tree was propagated from a mutant branch discovered on the Earl of Camperdown’s estate in Scotland in the 1800s.  All Camperdown elms are grown from cuttings originating from this single tree grafted onto a Ulmus spp. rootstock which supplies the straight trunk.

Though these trees don’t get terribly tall, they can become quite broad and need space for their tiers of foliage.  Like other contorted trees, the branches of old Camperdown elms can meet and fuse, as you can see in the photo from Friday.  And while the tree produces scads of seeds (that’s what you see in the photo above – not leaves!), they are sterile. 

Friday geography answer

As several of our astute readers knew, the photo from Friday was taken on the west coast of the Salton Sea in California.  Specifically, it’s at Salton Sea Beach, a nearly deserted region that I managed to make more picturesque through careful photography.  Here’s another picture of the same beach:

There were few plants at Salton Sea Beach – a palm tree here and there – and only a few waterfowl like these pelicans:

The Salton Sea is really the Salton Sink – it’s a low area that has occasionally and naturally filled with water.  Given the high rate of evaporation in the region, the lakebed became highly saline over the centuries.

So what does this all have to do with a gardening website?  Well, the reason the Sea exists today is because of natural flooding combined with agricultural development.  Initially the Sea was seen as a boon to tourism, so spots like Salton Sea Beach and Salton City (near curiously named Squeaky Springs) became tourist destinations.  But as agricultural runoff began to change the nature of the Sea, fish populations failed and so did the tourism industry.

You can see the algal bloom where runoff meets the sea (check out this Google map here).  These desert valleys have been used for conventional agricultural production for many decades, and the results are seen in a sea full of fertilizers and pesticides.

In any case, a visit to the Salton Sea is both fascinating and depressing.  It’s well worth the effort.

Friday geography quiz!

Like last week’s, today’s quiz is a little different.  (I haven’t forgotten about last week’s question – just haven’t gotten a good answer yet!  Never fear!)  In any case, you know I spent some time in Palm Desert CA last week.  On one of our day trips, I took the following picture (we are looking east):

So here’s the question:  where are we?  (It was a day trip, so not terribly far from Palm Desert.)  You can ask questions that I may or may not answer.  Monday’s answer will tell you lots more about this “accidental” landscape!

Friday quiz – with a twist!

On our hike to Horse Thief Creek, I found this plant nearly ready to bloom:

But I have no idea what it is!  The area is about 3000 ft. in the Santa Rosa Wilderness.  I’ve checked all the wildflower books I have for these deserts and am not having any luck.  It doesn’t help that I can’t see the flowers, of course.

So take your best shots!  I’ll check out all the guesses and come up with a list of best possibilities.  Let’s see if you can help me learn a new plant.

Friday investigation – April Fools!

I didn’t exactly cheat on this one…but it was a mean trick nevertheless.

This is a contorted cultivar of Larix (can’t remember the exact name and I’m out of town this week), hence the twisty needles.  And indeed the tree is senescing.  The newer growth (the second flush of the season) just wasn’t as prepared for fall as the older growth, which is yellowing naturally.  So everything is just peachy with this tree.

Just goes to show you how important it is to know all the details when doing distance diagnosis!