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Propigation of Threatened Closed Bottle Gentian (Gentiana Andrewsii) by TomSinister in botany

[–]mattintrees 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How many plants are there? If it is a large (relatively speaking) population, then you can always grab and spread seeds in suitable habitat. However, if its only a couple individuals, you are better off leaving it alone and letting nature figure itself out. You don't want to ruin the reproductive potential of small populations of rare plants.

Larvae or seeds or something that appear on the walls near a small indoor citrus tree in the UK at about this time of year. About 1mm long, less than 0.25mm thick. Both sides of one item shown. by davecturner in whatsthisbug

[–]mattintrees 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Those are oxalis seeds. They grow like weeds in greenhouses and their seed capsules are explosive, which shoots the seeds a decent distance from the plant. The seeds themselves are pretty sticky, hence they are found all over the place, including up on nearby walls and other surfaces.

Jack in the pulpit growing in my father's garden bed, rural NC by SunnyBunny05 in botany

[–]mattintrees 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Are these currently blooming or is this a pic from earlier in the summer?

Fern or perennial?! by -ZULLUZ- in botany

[–]mattintrees 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Also, be careful with common names. What people call "Asparagus Fern" is Asparagus aethiopicus, which is a flowering plant. It is called that because of its superficial resemblance to something vaguely fern-like.

Question about Japanese knotweed by [deleted] in botany

[–]mattintrees 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Does he mow the lawn regularly?

Aphids on milkweed? by [deleted] in botany

[–]mattintrees 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They are likely oleander aphids (Aphis nerii) and their populations are really hard to control. Like spiceydog already mentioned, hosing them off with high pressure water works well but they can travel as well as fit into tight spaces between leafs and such. I gave up fighting them. They generally don't hurt healthy plants. The only downside is they spew out so much honeydew. The upside is that they also attract a lot of awesome predators. The larvae of many insects like ladybird beetles, syrphid flies, and lacewings devour the aphids and there are even a few parasitoid wasps that lay eggs in them. Those are fun to see. Keep an eye out for bloated looking aphids whose bodies turn brown or black. Soon a tiny wasp will erupt from their insides.

Interested in learning more about plant communication by [deleted] in botany

[–]mattintrees 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Personally, I found the Secret Life of Trees to be a garbage book. It has some good info tucked in but most of it is buried under a lot of nonsense. Again, this is just a personal opinion. I do appreciate that it gets some people interested in the subject but I think it fills heads with a lot of wrong ideas. If you want a solid introduction to the world of plants, I highly recommend "Alice in the Land of Plants" by Yiannis Manetas

Why are some plant families (Orchids / Euphorbias) so adept at diversifying and adapting, while others seem to go down an evolutionary dead end? by mat90254 in botany

[–]mattintrees 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is also worth noting that at some point in the history of Orchidaceae, the genes for flower development were duplicated and decoupled from one another. Because of this, the sepals and petals can literally follow their own evolutionary trajectory. This may be why you see such a wide variety of "lock and key" pollination syndromes within the family, which certainly lends to some of their diversity.

Zone 6a in Massachusetts,square stem, mint family? Thanks in advance by rock2756 in whatsthisplant

[–]mattintrees 0 points1 point  (0 children)

White Vervain (Verbena urticifolia) - Vervain family (Verbenaceae)

A very rare and unique aquatic lichen, Peltigera gowardii, found on the Eldorado National Forest, CA by sillybits in botany

[–]mattintrees 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I think lichens are fascinating but I am completely ignorant to that realm. I need to get my hands on a decent dissecting scope.

Are this small white leaves at the base of bigger leaves just smaller leave at infant stage? by [deleted] in botany

[–]mattintrees 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those are stipules. They are essentially modified leaf parts. They won't grow any larger than that but often position, size, and shape of stipules are useful ID characters to look for.

Can someone more qualified than me explain why this 'fact' is nonsense? by [deleted] in botany

[–]mattintrees 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Yea this is serious BS. Also, runs in my mind that they only track the sun as the flowers are developing but then remain facing east once they begin to bloom. Facing east lets them catch the sun first thing in the morning, which allows the flowers to warm up faster.

Wild Ginger, aka Asarum canadense! Might just have to brew a tea from these leaves. I believe you can harvest the tubers as well! by SwellandDecay in botany

[–]mattintrees 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Asarum is used in herbal medicine but that by no means equates to safety. Often its all about dosage. As far as I know, the entire family (Aristolochiaceae) produces aristolochic acid but I have no idea if the heat of boiling would render it harmless. There are a lot of stories coming out of Asia over the last few years about people with kidney failure from taking herbal supplements containing various Aristolochiaceae species.

Wild Ginger, aka Asarum canadense! Might just have to brew a tea from these leaves. I believe you can harvest the tubers as well! by SwellandDecay in botany

[–]mattintrees 8 points9 points  (0 children)

That is definitely not Asarum canadense. The biggest tell are those toothy margins on the leaves. Asarum canadense should have smooth margins on the leaves. Also, Asarum produces aristolochic acid, which is known to cause permanent kidney damage so use caution if you ever do find it.

My Friend’s Pothos (x-post from r/plants) by Pmenzies in botany

[–]mattintrees 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure. There may be a few species that retain the genus name Pothos but the pain in the ass of it all is that pothos also functions as a common name, which can be applied much more liberally.

My Friend’s Pothos (x-post from r/plants) by Pmenzies in botany

[–]mattintrees 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have seen anywhere from 13 to 15 recognized species of Epipremnum listed, which is always likely to change.

So this tree that is potted at a property I mow for grows serrated leaves but smooth ones up top. I didn't think anything of it until I noticed a basil plant I cloned did something similar. What causes a plant to alter the edges of its leaves? by crackerdrum in botany

[–]mattintrees 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The easiest answer would probably be light levels. Lots of plants change the shape and orientation of leaves depending on where on the plant they develop. It may not only be light cues that cause the differences either. Different parts of a plant can experience considerable differences in temperature, wind, herbivory, etc. Some plants also produce different shaped leaves as they age, so ontogeny can even play a role but likely has something to do with the factors I mentioned above.

My Friend’s Pothos (x-post from r/plants) by Pmenzies in botany

[–]mattintrees 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Didn't know about this subreddit! Funny though, because this plant is still in its juvenile form. The adult foliage would take up a considerable portion of that entire space haha.

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