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Today's Doodle : Plant Speciation in Arid Landscapes, One Example.

Vernonia lettermannii occupies a bizarre ecological niche, only growing on river-scoured novaculite outcroppings near the Arkansas/Oklahoma border. The novaculite here is basically lithified silica-rich mud formed from the bodies of trillions of Radiolarians 350 million years ago

Ants on an extrafloral nectary of Chamaecrista fasciculata (Fabaceae). Normally nectar is produced in flowers, but here it is produced as a form of "payment" to keep ants around. The ants will then attack any caterpillars, leafhoppers or other pests that try to attack the plant.

Sand deposited by an ancient Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau, Missouri, at a site 6 miles away from the present channel of the river. This site is home to many rare plants that are able to tolerate the stress of growing on sand but unable to tolerate competition or shade.

Somebody got a drawing that I sold them tattooed and sent me a pic. I forgot about this one.

Manfreda longiflora : first 2 pics taken at 2 pm. Flowers pink, anthers visibly premature, no pollen or smell present. 3rd pic taken at 1145 pm. Anthers mature. Pollen visible along with very pleasant smell typical for moth pollination syndromes but with a hint of vanilla

I keep the electric"tennis racket" outside near my front door, next to my boots. Every morning there are a few mosquitoes swarming them, attracted to the smell. I take a few seconds to zap a few with the racket and then feed them as a morning treat to the Pinguiculas & Drosera.

The rare plant Frankenia johnstonii has a notable method of seed dispersal : post-flowering, the old flowers & fruit & the whorl of 4 leaves immediately subtending them turns yellow & dehisce, the leaves acting as propellers to help disperse the seed inside during strong winds.

"Keep looking at bugs, plants are nothing more than scaffolding to hold insects." - Biologist Sam Droege

No shit, Sherlock. But who will be the one to "manage" them? Some air-headed dipshit who's only ten years out of business school OR trained ecologists who have the best interests of the entire living world in mind, not just our anthropocentric, human one? phys.org/news/2024-08-f…

This is basically how the Appalachian mountains were formed 340 million years ago when northwestern Africa (Morocco) slammed into what is now North Carolina. 140 million years later they then rifted apart again and the Atlantic Ocean was born.

Scratch out "rural" & replace with "photosynthetic mass, especially native plants". Plants "leak" water through their stomata, which cools the landscape via transpirational cooling, like nature's swamp cooler. Walk by an overgrown lot at dusk in summer & compare w/ a parking lot.

A great podcast conversation I had with @andrewlhipp about Oak Taxonomy, Biogeography, Floral Morphology, what the hell "Delayed Fertilization" is and more. open.spotify.com/episode/4iRByW…

Dasylirion leiophyllum (Sotol) germination. Didn't germinate outside at 100°f days/80 ° nights after two weeks, so I brought inside to 78° f indoor temps under lights but kept covered with clear humidity trays. They all popped within a week. No treatment of seed (achenes) needed.

Liatris carrizana is endemic to a narrow band of sandy soil in Southeast Texas, where it grows with other sand endemics. The flower heads produce showy phyllaries to compensate for the lack of ray florets. It is pollinated by bumblebees.

Endangered Ethiopian wolves feed on the sweet nectar of a local flower, and may be the first carnivores discovered to act as pollinators. newscientist.com/article/245733…

Plant is Kiphofia foliosa, Aloe Family - Asphodelaceae