The Queens of the Garden; flowers with crown

If you believed that crowns only belonged to kings and queens, you were totally wrong. In this article you will see that some flowers, as the daffodils, also wear crowns and they are worthy of them! In addition, not all flowers are wearing the same one, because there are many different ones, of all sizes and colours. And these singular structures are the reason that some of this plants are cultivated to plant in the gardens.

INTRODUCTION

First of all, we have to present the Amaryllidoideae‘s subfamily (Fam. Amaryllidaceae) because is here where we will find these royal flowers wearing crowns.

The members of this subfamily are perennial or biennial and herbaceous plants with bulbs or rarely with rhizome (underground stems that are usually elongated and with horizontal growth, similar to roots, and that usually contains reserve substances stored). These plants tend to present long narrow leaves that surround a portion of the stem, with parallel nerves, hairless, deciduous, also they are flat and with entire margins, smooth.

A picture of a daffodils (Narcissus) as an example of an Amaryllidoideae member.

THEIR FLOWERS

Now that we get an idea of how these plants are, we have to know the flowers characteristics. That is, how are the flowers:

• Hermaphrodite: both male and female reproductive organs are present.
• Bracteate: each flower has a specialized leaf that is originated in its armpit.
• They can grow in solitary or grouped.
• No differentiation between petals and sepals. Therefore, in this case there isn’t difference between corolla and calyx, but it is a perianth formed by two whorls of petaloid tepals. In each whorl are 3 tepals and in total 6 per flower. These may be free or connected together. When the latter happens, crowns can be formed, as explained in the next section.

Flower parts: 1. petaloid tepal ; 2. crown; 3. floral bract (Miguel Ángel García‘s modified picture).

CROWNS’ DIVERSITY

The Amaryllidaceae group consists of 59 different genera. But not everyone is fit to wear crown. And now, you will know which of them are allowed and where they appear.

PARACOROLLAS

In Europe, the Mediterranean region and western Asia exists one of the most popular flowers with crown. It’s about the daffodil (Narcissus), one plant of the most used in gardening and surely the commonest queen of the gardens. This genus comprises a long crown or a funnel-shaped cup. Its origin is petaloid, that is, part of the tepals are fused to give rise to this structure. This type of crown is called paracorolla.

Narcissus (Author: Blondinrikard Fröberg).

STAMINAL CROWNS

On the other hand, within the same territory, there is the Pancratium gender. But this one presents a totally different crown; in this case the origin is staminal. That is, the bases of the stamens are enlarged and fused together to form the funnel.

Pancratium illyricum (Author: Tigerente).

Furthermore, the genera Calostemma and Proiphys occur between the centre and east of Asia and in Australia. These ones also carry staminal crowns (as in the previous case).

Calostemma luteum (Author: Melburnian).

Proiphys amboinensis (Author: Tauʻolunga).

OTHERS CROWNS

Moreover, within the same distribution as the two examples above, Lycoris appears. But, this one wears a smaller crown as it’s formed only by the joining of the tepals’ bases. This leads to tiny tube.

Lycoris aurea (Public Domain).

Finally, in America is where we find a big variety of genera and different crowns, differently formed (but, some as in the previous cases). The members of this territory are: Clinanthus, Pamianthe, Paramongaia, Hieronymiella, Placea, Hymenocallis, Ismene, Leptochiton, Eucrosia, Mathieua, Phaedranassa, Rauhia and Stenomesson

Pamianthe peruviana (Author: Col Ford and Natasha de Vere).

Placea amoena (Author: Dick Culbert).

Phaedranassa tunguraguae (Author: Michael Wolf).

Ismene amancaes (Author: Mayta).

Hymenocallis caribaea (Author:Tatters ❀).

Eucrosia bicolor (Author: Raffi Kojian – http://www.gardenology.org).

Clinanthus variegatus (Author: Melburnian)

Now that you know the different royal crowns, which one would be the queen of your garden?

REFERENCES

• Aguilella & F. Puche. 2004. Diccionari de botànica. Col·leció Educació. Material. Universitat de València: pp. 500.
• Bolòs, J. Vigo, R. M. Masalles & J. M. Ninot. 2005. Flora manual dels Països catalans. 3ed. Pòrtic Natura, Barcelona: pp. 1310.
• Guía de Consultas Diversidad Vegetal. FACENA (UNNE).Monocotiledoneas- Asparagales: Amaryllidaceae.
• W. Byng. 2014. The Flowering Plants Handbook: A practical guide to famílies and genera of the world. Plant Gateway Ltd., Hertford, UK.
• Apuntes de Fanerógamas, Grado de Biología Ambiental, UAB.
• Guía de Consultas Diversidad Vegetal. FACENA (UNNE).Monocotiledoneas- Asparagales: Amaryllidaceae.

Les Reines del Jardí; flors amb corona

Si creies que les corones eren només pels reis i les reines, estaves ben equivocat. En aquest article podràs veure que algunes flors, com els narcisos, també són portadores de corones i en són ben dignes d’elles! A més no totes porten la mateixa, sinó que n’hi ha de ben diferents, de totes mides i colors. I són aquestes estructures tan peculiars les que han ocasionat que moltes d’aquestes plantes siguin cultivades per a la jardineria.

INTRODUCCIÓ 

En primer lloc, cal presentar les amarilidoidees (Subfamília Amaryllidoideae, Fam. Amaryllidaceae) perquè és on trobarem aquestes flors reials portadores de corona.

Els membres d’aquesta subfamília són plantes herbàcies perennes o biennals amb bulbs o rarament amb rizomes (tiges subterrànies habitualment allargades i de creixement horitzontal, semblants a arrels i que sovint emmagatzemen substàncies de reserva). Aquestes acostumen a presentar fulles allargades i estretes, que envolten una part de la tija, amb els nervis paral·lels, sense pèls, caduques, planes i amb el marge sencer, llis.

Foto d’un narcís (Narcissus) com a exemple d’un membre d’Amaryllidoideae.

LES SEVES FLORS

Ara que ja ens fem una idea de com són les plantes, hem de conèixer les característiques de les flors. És a dir, com són:

• Hermafrodites: contenen òrgans reproductors tan masculins com femenins.
• Bracteades: cada flor consta d’una fulla especialitzada que l’acompanya i que s’origina a la seva axil·la.
• Poden créixer solitàries o en conjunt.
• Sense diferenciació entre sèpals i pètals. Per tant, en aquest cas no es distingeix entre una corol·la i un calze, sinó que es tracta d’un periant format per dos verticils de tèpals petaloides. En cada verticil trobem 3 tèpals i en total 6 per flor. Aquests poden estar lliures o units entre ells. Quan es troben soldats poden formar corones, tal i com s’explica a l’apartat següent.

Parts de la flor: 1. tèpal petaloide; 2. corona; 3. bràctea floral (Modificació foto de Miguel Ángel García).

DIVERSITAT DE CORONES

El grup Amaryllidaceae es composa de 59 gèneres diferents. Però no tots són dignes de portar corona. I, a continuació, podràs veure quins sí que ho són i a on apareixen.

PARACOROL·LES

A Europa, regió mediterrània i a l’oest d’Àsia trobem unes de les flors amb corona més conegudes. Es tracta del narcis (Narcissus), una de les plantes més utilitzada en jardineria i segurament la reina del jardí més habitual. Aquest gènere consta d’una corona llarga amb forma de copa o embut. El seu origen és petaloide, és a dir, part dels tèpals es fusiona per donar lloc a aquesta estructura. A aquest tipus de corona se la denomina paracorol·la.

Narcissus (Autor: Blondinrikard Fröberg).

CORONES ESTAMINALS

D’altra banda, dins del mateix territori trobem al gènere Pancratium. Però aquest llueix una corona totalment diferent; en aquest cas l’origen és estaminal, és a dir, les bases dels estams s’han eixamplat i fusionat entre elles per formar l’embut.

Pancratium illyricum (Autor: Tigerente).

Des del centre fins al est d’Àsia i a Austràlia trobem els gèneres Calostemma i Proiphys, els quals porten una corona estaminal  (com al cas anterior).

Calostemma luteum (Autor: Melburnian).

Proiphys amboinensis (Autor: Tauʻolunga).

ALTRES CORONES

A més, dins la mateixa distribució que els dos exemples anteriors, apareix Lycoris. Però, aquest llueix una corona més petita, ja que esta formada només per la unió de la base dels 6 tèpals que donen lloc a petit tub.

Lycoris aurea (Public Domain).

Finalment a Amèrica és on trobem una gran varietat de gèneres i de corones ben diverses, formades de diferents maneres; algunes com en els casos anteriors. Els gèneres d’aquest territori són: Clinanthus, Pamianthe, Paramongaia, Hieronymiella, Placea, Hymenocallis, Ismene, Leptochiton, Eucrosia, Mathieua, Phaedranassa, Rauhia i Stenomesson

Pamianthe peruviana (Autor: Col Ford and Natasha de Vere).

Placea amoena (Autor: Dick Culbert).

Phaedranassa tunguraguae (Autor: Michael Wolf).

Ismene amancaes (Autor: Mayta).

Hymenocallis caribaea (Autor:Tatters ❀).

Eucrosia bicolor (Autor: Raffi Kojian – http://www.gardenology.org).

Clinanthus variegatus (Autor: Melburnian)

Ara que ja coneixes les diferents corones reials, quina seria la reina del teu jardí?

REFERÈNCIES

• Aguilella & F. Puche. 2004. Diccionari de botànica. Col·leció Educació. Material. Universitat de València: pp. 500.
• Bolòs, J. Vigo, R. M. Masalles & J. M. Ninot. 2005. Flora manual dels Països catalans. 3ed. Pòrtic Natura, Barcelona: pp. 1310.
• W. Byng. 2014. The Flowering Plants Handbook: A practical guide to famílies and genera of the world. Plant Gateway Ltd., Hertford, UK.
• Apunts de Fanerògames, Grau de Biologia Ambiental, UAB.
• Guía de Consultas Diversidad Vegetal. FACENA (UNNE). Monocotiledoneas- Asparagales: Amaryllidaceae.

Flowers wearing turban, the Tulip fever

The spring beginning has allowed some of you to enjoy the beautiful colours of those flowers that have already bloomed. This time I’m going to talk about one of the most colourful, simple, but wonderful flowers you probably already will have had the opportunity to observe in many gardens or in nature. It is the tulip. Besides introduce you this plant, in this article I will make a more detailed description of its morphological parts. I think it’s a good example to start learning vocabulary, because its structure is quite clear and simple. Therefore, if you are interested in learning some technical vocabulary, now it’s a perfect chance. But, do not think I’m just going to talk about the technical aspects, because reading this article you will also be able to learn the history behind the tulips. And as you will see, these flowers caused a good fever!

Artistic image of several tulips (Photo taken by Adriel Acosta).

 INTRODUCTION

The tulips (Tulipa sp.) are flowers that when are closed seem a turban. This plants have been very popular and well-known for very long time, because of its high ornamental interest.

Its genus is distributed in the central and western Asia, in the Mediterranean and in Europe. It is known that its origin belongs to the centre of Asia and, from there, their distribution has been expanded naturally and by human actions. And, although about 150 species are known in the nature, human intervention has greatly increased the species list. Caused both by hybridization (forcing the offspring of two interesting species) and by selective breeding (choosing the offspring which has more value).

Tulip crop in Amsterdam (Photo taken by Rob Young). 

 THE TULIP FEVER

As already mentioned above, tulips are one of the most ornamental plants used, both in decoration as in landscaping. And while the tulip crop is rather old, the boom occurred in Europe during the seventeenth century. Giving rise to what is known as Tulip mania or the Tulip fever. In those moments, especially in Netherlands and France, a high interest in the cultivation of these plants awoke. The fever was so great that people were selling goods of all kinds to buy tulip bulbs, even reaching up to sell the most valued as the house or farm animals.

The cause of this was originated in the Netherlands, where the single-coloured tulip bulbs were being sold at that time. But afterwards, the Eastern bulbs that give rise to flowers with variegated colours appeared. And they were very attractive. Although the cause was uncertain in that moment, it was known that if a single-coloured bulb touched other marbled-coloured bulb, the first one would turned into a marbled-coloured bulb. This caused the tulip’s price began to increase and soon after occurred the first speculative bubble in history.

Nowadays, we know that the cause is due to a virus which is transmitted from some bulbs to others; this virus is known as Tulip breaking virus.

Anonymous gouache on paper drawing, 17th century, of the “Semper Augustus”. A representation of one of the most popular tulips which was sold at record price in Netherlands (Public Domain).

MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS

 The plant

 Tulips are geophytes, that is, they have resistance bodies underground to survive during unfavourable seasons, the winter. These organs are bulbs, which have been used on crops to preserve these plants.

Its leaves are linear or linear-lanceolate, i.e., they are long, narrow and acute. Parallel venation can be observed on its leaves, so a nerve is by side other and with the same direction. Their arrangement is usually in rosette: this means that the leaves are born agglomerated in the bottom of the plant above the bulb, and at the same level. Even so, you can sometimes see some leaves along the stem, cauline ones. These are sessile, without petiole, and wrap a little the stem.

To cultivate tulips, we can use their bulbs or fruits. These seconds are capsules, a dried fruits, opened due the action of some valves. At first, the seeds are hooked inside these capsules and then are released and distributed on the environment.

Tulip (Photo taken by Adriel Acosta).

The flowers

Tulips appear in early spring, due they are plants adapted to very dry Mediterranean climate or cold areas.

As you have seen, the flowers are solitary or appear to 3 gathered in one stem. They are usually large and showy, hermaphrodite, therefore, they have both male and female reproductive organs, and are actinomorphous, that is, they can be divided symmetrically for more than two planes of symmetry.

These flowers have 3 inner tepals and 3 external that are free among them, without being bound or fused. We talk about tepals when the sepals (calyx pieces) and petals (corolla parts) are similar between them. In this case, the tepals are petaloid, because they adopt typical colours and shapes of the petals.

In the inner part of the flower, we can see 6 stamens divided equally into 2 whorls; being these two closely spaced between them, so they seem to arise from the same point. And right in the centre, surrounded by these stamens, there is the gynoecium, female part of the flower. This gynoecium consists of the ovary and 3 stigmas attached to this directly. The stigmas are this part of female reproductive organs where it should arrive pollen to fertilize the ovaries.

Parts of tulip flower: 1. Sepal, 2. Petal, 3. Stamen, 4. Female reproductive organ (ovary and 3 stigmas) (Photo taken by Adriel Acosta).

 As you have seen in this article, some flowers have caused curious stories and a great impact on our society. Also, you have had the opportunity to observe in detail the tulip’s structure. One more time, I wish you liked it.

REFERENCES

• A. Aguilella & F. Puche. 2004. Diccionari de botànica. Colleció Educació. Material. Universitat de València: pp. 500.
• Bolòs, J. Vigo, R. M. Masalles & J. M. Ninot. 2005. Flora manual dels Països catalans. 3ed. Pòrtic Natura, Barcelona: pp. 1310.
• Notes of Phanerogamae and Applied Plant Physiology, Degree of Environmental Biology, Ambiental, UAB
• F. Schiappacasse. Cultivo del tulipan. http://www2.inia.cl/medios/biblioteca/seriesinia/NR21768.pdf
• Fundación para la Innovación Agraria; Ministerio de Agricultura. 2008. Resultados y Lecciones en Tulipán. Proyecto de Innovación en XII Región de Magallanes. Flores y FOllajes/ Flores de corte (11).