Plant Portraits 10. The Fruit of Life

  (Note images in this series were generated with the assistance of modern AI tools. No actual human individuals are portrayed here. See the first installment of the series for further explanation)

In an earlier post, I explained why humanity might never have come into being without the fig. Its tropical relatives have been a vital source of food for primates since they first entered the rain forest canopy, and the species that evolved in the drier regions of the Middle East have sustained human populations for millennia. 

In the rainforests throughout the tropics, figs are a reliable food source for monkeys and other arboreal animals because of their habit of nearly continuous fruit production. Without the figs, primates may have diversified much more slowly, or not at all, and failed to give rise to our ground-dwelling ancestors. In this picture, the massive fruit set of Ficus sur is a feast for these guenon monkeys in Africa.

When Neanderthals entered Europe through the Middle East, the common species that we grow today, Ficus carica, was likely vital for their survival as well. This scene depicts an imagined later event of about 60,000 years ago, after modern humans had arrived from Africa. A Neanderthal man has two wives, one of them is a modern human, illustrating the fact, documented by genetic analysis, that Neanderthals and modern humans interbred. 

 

Some scholars believe that the forbidden fruit referred to in ancient stories of the Garden of Eden was more likely the fig, rather than the apple as often depicted in modern times. The particular type of fruit is not specified in the stories, but apples did not occur in the Middle East at the time.

The date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, though unrelated to the fig, also originated in the Middle East and has been a vital source of food in the region for millennia. Here an early Mesopotamian family harvests dates from a cultivated grove. Note the lone male tree in blossom on the left. Date palms are dioecious, which means individual trees bear either male flowers or female flowers, not both. Early cultivators realized that they needed only one male tree to fertilized dozens of female trees. 

Plant Portraits 9. Big Stink in the Jungle

  (Note images in this series were generated with the assistance of modern AI tools. No actual human individuals are portrayed here. See the first installment of the series for further explanation)

 

 Not all that pleases the eye pleases the nose. Foul-smelling flowers attract flies and other insects that feed on rotting flesh. The stapeliads of Africa are of this nature, but the most spectacular examples are found in Indonesia. 

A family of the Kubu (Orang Rimba) indigenous group of Sumatra passes by the giant flowers of Rafflesia arnoldii, which is emitting a foul odor that mimics rotting flesh in order to attract carrion flies. The genus Rafflesia contains 41 species, and R. arnoldii has the largest of all flowers, measuring up to 40 inches in diameter.

 

A family of the Serampas ethnic group of Sumatra, dressed for a festive occasion, has encountered a rare bloom of the giant Titan Arum in the forest, on their way to another village. Being a member of the Aroid family (Araceae) the giant bloom of Amorphophallus titanum is not a single flower, but an inflorescence of many tiny flowers on a central spadix surrounded by a large spathe. The top part of the spadix is sterile, and functions to emit a an odor of rotting flesh, similar to that of the unrelated Rafflesia. Amorphophallus contains some 170 species with varied floral odors that reflect the tastes of particular pollinators. The Serampas people are models of forest management, growing a variety of sustainable forest products and have been designated by the Indonesian government as protectors of the rain forest within their traditional territory. 

A stink of a different sort is found in the fruits of the genus Durio (Malvaceae). Durian fruits have various, mostly disagreeable, odors, but tasty fruits. Orangutans and bats are attracted to the smell, knowing from experience that a tasty treat awaits them,  and serve as dispersal agents for the fruit. The foul odors perhaps discourage less intelligent, smaller animals, who would be unable to disperse the relatively large (one inch) seeds, from feeding on the fruits. 

Plant Portraits 8. South African Treasures

The bird-of-paradise, Strelitzia reginae, grows in moist

soil along watercourses. Those pictured higher on the 

 walls of this ravine are likely near seeps.  

  (Note images in this series were generated with the assistance of modern AI tools. No actual human individuals are portrayed here. See the first installment of the series for further explanation)

 

 The country of South Africs spans nearly 1000 miles from north to south. In the north, one finds the beginning of the vast African savanna, with its iconic herd of wild animals. More interesting botanically, however, is the southern end of the country, where a winter-rainfall, Mediterranean type of climate, with arguably the most spectacular display of spring wildflowers to be found anywhere in the world. Many of our favorite garden flowers originated here, including calla lilies, pelargoniums, birds-of-paradise, and gladiolus. The Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Capetown focuses exclusively on collections of native plants and is a great base for forays into the field in the spring season of September through November. 

In this post are imaginary scenes incorporating some of these native plants. You can also refer back to my series on South African wildflowers beginning with the post on Kirstenbosch linked above (or see the Table of Contents.)

 

The common white calla lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica, occurs in shallow marshy areas of South Africa.

The yellow calla lily, Zantedeschia elliotii, grows in shallow marshes in eastern South Africa, seen here with the giant bird-of-paradise, Strelitzia nicolai, in the background.

Spring wildflowers in the Cape region of South Africa form vast mixed displays of every imaginable hue. The iris family is particularly diverse here with about 36 genera and 1200 species. Gladiolus, Moraea, Babiana, Ixia, Freesia, Watsonia, Romulea. Sparaxis, and Geissorhiza, are just a few of the distinctive members of the Iridaceae unique to this area. One can also find here many species of Pelargonium (known horticulturally as Geraniums), seen on the rocks in the foreground here. In the background are some specimens of the unique and spectacular giant aloe (Aloidendendron barberi), which has evolved a unique form of secondary growth, rare among wood-less monocots.  

South Africa is also home to many species of woody shrubs in the family Proteaceae, the most spectacular of which is the King Protea, P. cynaroides. 

Plant Portraits 7. Papyrus

According to the Old Testament book of Exodus, the baby 

Moses was placed in s papyrus basket and set adrift in the

Nile River by his mother, to protect him from the Pharaoh's 

decree to kill all newborn Hebrew boys. The river is lined 

with thickets of the papyrus plant.

  (Note images in this series were generated with the assistance of modern AI tools. No actual human individuals are portrayed here. See the first installment of the series for further explanation)

 

 I recently highlighted the incredibly useful bamboos, sources of fiber and wood substitutes for both ancient and modern societies. For ancient Egyptians, the magical source of useful fiber was the papyrus plant (Cyperus papyrus, Cyperaceae). It was used for everything plant fibers are good for:,mats, baskets, and even boats. Most important though was the manufacture of paper. The word paper in fact comes from the word papyrus, the Latin version of an even older word. 

The genus Cyperus contains at least 700 species, but only a handful are used for fiber or for food.  Many are short and grass-like, often appearing as lawn weeds.

 

Craftsmen in ancient Egypt are manufacturing paper from the long upright stalks of the papyrus plant. Papyrus was the standard writing material throughout the Mediterranean and surrounding areas for millennia.The stalks which may be six feet long or more are ideal for this purpose, as they consist of a single, uninterrupted internode with long straight fibers.

A fishing boat in ancient Egypt was made entirely of papyrus stalks. The explorer Thor Heyerdahl successfully crossed the Atlantic Ocean  in a papyrus boat in 1970, to support his hypothesis that ancient Egyptians had done so in prehistoric times, influencing the building of pyramids in the New World.

Yokot'an Mayan people of southern Mexico used the stems of Cyperus giganteus to make mats.

Hunter/gatherer cultures, and later agriculturists,  in Africa have been harvesting the edible tubers of Cyperus esculentus for millennia.

Hu

Plant Portraits 6. Clematis

  (Note images in this series were generated with the assistance of modern AI tools. No actual human individuals are portrayed here. See the first installment of the series for further explanation)

 One of my other favorite genera of plants is Clematis (Ranunculaceae), a relative of Aquilegia, which was feaured in the first installment of this series.  Clematis species are mostly vines that climb by means of their thigmotrophic leaves, i.e. when they touch a potential supporting object, the leaves can wrap around it like tendrils. Like Aquilegia, they can be found in all colors of the rainbow, though red is rare among natual species. Various species have been used traditionally to treat inflammation. There are some 380 species of Clematis, about 2/3 of which occur in Asia.

The mention of Clematis immediately evokes images of the highly prized garden cultivars with large flowers in shades of blue, red, purple, pink and white. These garden varieties have complex histories of breeding and hybridization, with genes for blue colors coming from several wild species. The red colors in these cultivars, however, comes from just one species, Clematis texensis. 

 

 

In moist soil around swamps in Florida, and as far north as Virginia and west to Texas, one can find the blue-flowered, Clematis crispa. It's nodding, bell-shaped flowers are pollinated primarily by bumblebees. 

 

The nodding bell-shaped or urn-shaped species of Clematis are mostly pollinated by pollen-gathering  bumblebees.

 

Clematis baldwinii is related to C. crispa, but is not vining and found exclusively in peninsular Florida. It inhabits pine flatwoods, prairies, and sandhills, where periodic fire keeps down competing vegetation.

 

Clematis texensis is the only deep red species. It occurs only in moist soil in limestone regions of western Texas. It is the source of red-flowered genes in garden cultivars.

  

 Uyghur children  admire a patch of yellow-flowered Clematis tangutica, found in the highlands of central Asia to western China.

 

A number of Clematis species, like this C. terniflora growing in Taiwan, produce masses of fragrant white flowers that attract a variety of insects. 

Plant Portraits 5. Lotus Here and There

  (Note images in this series were generated with the assistance of modern AI tools. No actual human individuals are portrayed here. See the first installment of the series for further explanation)

 

 From India to China, the lotus plant (Nelumbo nucifera) is considered sacred, or at least miraculous, because of its ability to rise from the mud, year after year, producing leaves and spectacular blossoms. In addition, its edible seeds and rhizomes are highly valuable sources of nutrition. Lotus occurs also in North America, with similar usage and respect by the indigenous people. Only the flower color is different. I presented some of this information in a previous post .

A group of Balinese dancers taking a break to admire lotus blossoms.

The lotus flower was associated with a number of Hindu deities. This newly created representation of the mythical birth of Goddess Padmavati from a lotus flower combines elements common to Indian art on this subject.

An indigenous Timacu family paddles through a pond filled with the Amerian lotus, Nelumbo lutea in Florida. From southern Ontario, Canada, to Florida, west to Oklahoma, and as far south as Honduras, the indigenous peoples made similar use of lotus as did Asian populations. 

 

 

Women and children in ancient China are harvesting the edible seeds of lotus in the Fall. The bitter-tasting embryos are removed, but saved for medicinal usage. In the winter, the more arduous task of digging up the edible rhizomes from the mud will be undertaken by men.

 

 

 

A chef in ancient China is slicing lotus rhizome for an upcoming meal.

 

 

NOT LOTUS! These are waterlilies of the genus Nymphaea. (Family Nymphaceae). They are not related at all to the lotus, which is genus Nelumbo (Nelumbaceae). The Nymphaeaceae is an ancient lineage branching off near the base of the angiosperm tree, while the Nelumbaceae is actually more closely related to sycamore trees in the Eudicots. I bring this up here to illustrate the very important concept of convergent evolution; plants from unrelated ancestors that have adapted to a similar habitat and lifestyle resulting in a superficial resemblance. 

Plant Portraits 4. Big Seed, Little Seed

 

  (Note images in this series were generated with the assistance of modern AI tools. No actual human individuals are portrayed here. See the first installment of the series for further explanation)

 Seeds vary tremendously in size, depending on how they are adapted for dispersal and germination. Larger seeds, with some exceptions, seldom disperse far from the parent tree. The nutrient-filled seeds are adapted for for sustaining thr germination and slow growth of the seedling in the deep shade of the forest. Smaller seeds are both more widely dispersed, by animals or wind, and germinate in bright, sunny locations.The smallest are the wind-dispersed seeds of orchids.

The largest seeds in the world are those of the Double Coconut, Lodoicea maldivica.They may weigh as much as 55 pounds. They are too heavy to float like regular coconuts. They can only fall from the tree and germinate close by, and so have virtually no dispersal ability at all. They are also extremely slow growing, taking 25-30 years to begin producing fruit.  For these reasons, they are quite rare.  Harvesting and economic use of the seeds is strictly prohibited by the government of the Seychelles where they grow. In former times, they were harvested while immature for the edible, jelly-like endosperm. The shells were used for bowls and similar utensils and the fibrous husk used to make ropes. Leaves were used for thatching, mats, and basketry.

 

The very abundant coconut (Cocos nucifera) is traditionally and commercially used for food, oil, and crafts, similar to those described, but now forbidden, for the double coconut. Though the seeds, within their fibrous husks, are large and heavy, they are buoyant and widely distributed by currents along coastlines. There is debate, however, as to how far they can float and remain viable, and whether they could migrate across oceans. In this scene, Polynesian women are extracting fibers from  coconut husks that have been soaked in water for many days to loosen the fibers, and twisting them into ropes (coir).

Humans were not the first to harvest coconuts. The coconut crab, Birgus latro, feeds on a variety of foods, but is uniquely equipped to break open the tough shell of the coconut. It's geographical range follows that of the coconut from the Indian Ocean to Polynesia, but not to tropical America. This supports the hypothesis that the coconuts in the new world are a later, possibly human introduction. 

 

 

 Smaller palm fruits, such as these of a species of Hydriastele, are dispersed by fruit-eating birds.

The smallest of all seeds belong to orchids. The seeds are flat, dust-like and adapted to dispersal by the wind. Each contains a small embryo and virtually no stored food. The must land in a well-lit location, and also require special symbiotic fungi for their sustenance.  

Plant Portraits 3. African gems and curiosities

 

 

  (Note images in this series were generated with the assistance of modern AI tools. No actual human individuals are portrayed here. See the first installment of the series for further explanation)

When we think of Africa, we usually picture the incredible array of animals there, including our closest relatives. Africa also hosts some remarkable plant life however.

The gloriosa lily (Gloriosa superba, also known as G. rothschildiana) is one of the most spectacular wildflowers of the African savanna region. The genus Gloriosa (family Colchicaceae) has 12 species, mostly found in Africa. All are highly toxic.

 

Scadoxus multiflorus (family Amaryllidaceae) and Clematopsis scabiosifolia (family Ranunculaceae) are two more spectacular flowers of the African savanna. A mother ostrich and her young chick are passing by, with several of the strange baobob trees, Adansonia digitata (Malvaceae)  in the distance. Other trees in the background are species of Acacia. 

Africa is home to a number of Stapeliads (Stapelia and related genera in the Milkweed Family (Asclepiadaceae). Collectively they are known as carrion flowers, because they emit an odor that mimics that of rotting flesh in order to attract pollinating carrion flies.

 

The bizarre Welwitschia mirabilis is an odd gymnosperm distantly related to the conifers. The plant s only produce two leaves during its lifespan of 1000 plus years. The parallel-veined leaves grow continuously from meristems at their bases, but with age split into a number of segments, giving the appearance of a crown of multiple leaves. The stem has no apical meristem. Male and female cones, on separate plants, emerge from the axils of the two leaves, around a concave central disk. Occurring only in the extremely dry Namib Desert of southwestern Africa, it relies on long taproots to access deep groundwater, as well as a system of fine shallow roots that collect drops condensing on leaves from the fog that rolls in from the Atlantic Ocean.

Plant Portraits 2. Bamboo

 (Note images in this series were generated with the assistance of modern AI tools. No actual human individuals are portrayed here. See the first installment of the series for further explanation)

 Bamboos are giant grasses numbering 1500 species or more and classified in over 140 genera. They are essentially giant herbs, without true wood. Most have hollow stems with hard fibrous exteriors, valued throughout their tropical to temperate range as a source of fiber and wood-like construction material. They have been used for thousands of years for house construction, water conduits, baskets and weapons (e.g. bows and arrows). The young shoots serve as an edible vegetable. Giant pandas feed almost exclusively on the leaves and young shoots of bamboo in the southwestern mountains of China. 

In this cut bamboo surface, we can make out

the individual fibrous bundles packed close and 

cemented together. Most bundles contain 

water-conducting xylem and/or 

food-transporting phloem, surrounded 

by the hard, protective fibers. This, rather than 

layers of xylem, is what gives them their

wood-like hardness and strength. 

In modern times, there are even more applications. Laminated together, pieces of bamboo, replace hardwoods in the manufacture of flooring, furniture, chopping boards and many more. The individual fibrous bundles can be softened and separated for making clothing, pillows, etc. 

 A prehistoric family in what is now China pass through a bamboo grove and encounter a group of giant pandas, which feed almost exclusively on the leaves and tender shoots of at least 25 different species of bamboo.

One of the thousands of uses for bamboo in China was the handcrafting of scrolls used for writing books. Narrow strips of bamboo stem were cut and sown together in scrolls. They were written on with a highly durable ink made from soot mixed with animal based glues. This was the standard material for book-making for more than a thousand years, and some of the scrolls dating from the Han Dynasty are still legible a thousand years later. 

Plant Portraits 1. Columbines

 With this post, I begin a new series, featuring fanciful AI-assisted illustrations of plants in the context of their natural environments and their historical relationships to human culture. As always, they are intended to be informational, botanically accurate, hopefully entertaining, and free of all advertisement or monetization. However, these portraits may be somewhat speculative  in nature, particularly those with historical or cultural components. They combine elements assembled widely from internet sources, and rendered with modern AI tools. They may also be somewhat idealized in that they display flowers in greater abundance and more perfect condition than usually found, and with animals that are often hard to see in nature. These are imaginary pictures I wish I could see, but they are all intended to provide enlightenment as well as enjoyment. NO REAL PEOPLE APPEAR IN ANY OF THESE IMAGES.

The use of AI is much discussed and debated these days. Is it harmful or beneficial? It is both of course. Every bit of technology, since the first rock picked up by an unnamed hominid ancestor, can be used to help or to harm. The AI genie is out of the bottle, and cannot be put back. AI permeates our web searches, and is being incorporated into standard graphic programs. It's a tool we can use where it is helpful, though we must try our best to control its darker side. The plant portraits presented here would not have been possible without these tools, the results were irresistibly stunning and informative.

That said, this first post returns to the subject of my very first blog on this site: my favorite flowers, the columbines, of the genus Aquilegia (famiily Ranunculaceae). There are roughly 70 species of this genus, mostly in North America and Eurasia. There has been some limited use of this genus in folk medicine, for such things as treating head lice and cleansing the skin, but toxic cyanogenic glycosides in their tissues dictate very careful dosages, and they are seldom used anymore. Columbine seeds and plants, however. are of multimillion dollar value in the horticultural trade.

Aquilegias are one of the few genera of flowering plants capable of producing pigments in all colors of the rainbow (Think about it. What other genera do you know have that versatility?) Typically, flowers in this genus have a long nectar spur extending from each of the five petals, the length reflecting the feeding organs of the birds, butterflies, hawkmoths or bees that feed in them. You'll see one exception below. 

The western red columbine, Aquilegia formosa, is found widely in the western mountains of North America. It is seen here in the lower left, in the alpine meadow of Paradise, in Mt. Rainier National Park, along with purple lupines, scarlet Indian paintbrush and the seed heads of Anemone occidentalis. Red columbines are pollinated primarily by hummingbirds.

The Colorado blue columbine, Aquilegia coerulea, lights up a meadow near the Grand Teton range in Wyoming. It is pollinated primarily by bumblebees and hawkmoths, but occasionally by hummingbirds.

The rarely seen Aquilegia jonesii is endemic to the northern Rocky Mountains, and occurs in open, rocky habitats at high altitudes. They are pollinated primarily by bumblebees during the short alpine summer.

In this imaginary setting, prehistoric indigenous Hopi children admire the blooms of the western yellow columbine, Aquilegia chrysantha, growing in damp soil by a stream. The Hopi's iconic cliff dwellings are in the back. Western yellow columbines are pollinated primarily by hawkmoths, sometimes in the nighttime, or occasionally by hummngbirds.

A family of the Bai ethnic group of western China, is dressed for a celebration and walking past clumps of pink-flowered Aquilegia ecalcarata, a species lacking the usual nectar spurs on its petals. It is  pollinated by short-tongued insects like syrphid (hover) flies.