The Painted Cycad

Wow!  I just realized that it has been a month and a day since I last posted.  

Explanations first.  

I decided a while back to limit my posts to weekends which is when it is most convenient for me to take pictures and research.  The past weekends, however, have not been conducive to blogging which is why there have been no posts from my end.  It also explains why I haven't been commenting on your blogs.  The number of Google Reader items to read to play catch up = Scary!  I already started last night but I've barely made a dent in the numbers.  

There were two long weekends to enjoy last month, one of which was spent out of town communing with nature at our favorite go-to mountain home.  Here is a picture of Pals (from the "Plant Clinic" post) and I heading down to the stream for a swim.  You can almost make out the stream above my head.

Click to read more ...

Castaway Plants

No, I don't mean the plants people get rid off or set aside to use for compost or those used in the set of one of the reality TV shows or a Tom Hanks movie.  

These plants grow wild on a thousand acre island in the Bahamas.

View from the island's observation deck.The island, once visited by pirates and then (much) later on by drug smugglers, is now overrun by a rodent named Mickey and his friends.  The "official" story has cleaned up the island's nefarious history and has changed it to a story of three explorers and their families setting sail for the Bahamas in the 1920's and deciding to settle down on the island.

Click to read more ...

The Man Behind the Plant

There is a saying, "Behind every great man is a woman".  

Well, behind every plant is the man or woman who discovered it or after whom it was named, sometimes both.

At the recently concluded Flora Filipina 2012, I had the privilege and honor of meeting the man behind the Vietnamese species Cycas lindstromii.  No other than Swedish cycad expert Anders Linsdtrom himself.

Anders Lindstrom accepting a Plaque of Appreciation from Evangeline Go, Chairperson of the Flora Filipina 2012 Expo and Fernando Aurigue, Chairperson of the Flora Filipina Conference.

Click to read more ...

Oldest Pot Plant

Sorry.  It's not Cannabis sativa.

The oldest pot plant is actually the Eastern Cape giant cycad, also known as Encephalartos altensteinii. 

From www.plant-care.com and used with permission from Gary Antosh

Like all cycads, this is a prehistoric plant.

Encephalartos is derived from the Greek en (within), kephali (head) and artos (bread) because the pith of the plant can be used to make a bread-like food.  The species name altensteinii is a tribute to Baron von Stein zum Altenstein (1770-1840), a Prussian statesman at the court of King Fredrick William III.

The following photos of male and female cones are from Dave's Garden.

E. altensteinii's male cones. Photo by Geoff Stein. From Dave's Garden. Used with permission.

The. E. altensteinii is dioecious meaning it produces male and female cones on separate plants.  In order to propagate it by seeds one must have a male and female plant.  Both plants should cone at the same time to increase the chance of pollination.  It takes about 7 to 10 years before the first cone appears.

E. altensteinii's opening female cones. Photo by Geoff Stein. From Dave's Garden. Used with permission.The leaflets are stiff and green and have marginal spines.  It feels like plastic if you touch it. 

The IUCN has listed it as a vulnerable species since 1998 and it is listed on Appendix I of the CITES Appendices. 

The most famous specimen of this plant can be found in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.  The specimen at Kew was collected  in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa in 1773 by plant hunter Francis Masson.  It has produced a cone only once at Kew.

Of course you guessed it right.  The Kew E. altensteinii is the oldest pot plant in the world.

E. altensteinii at Kew Gardens. © 2010 Suzanne Cadwell. Used with permission.

Isn't it just amazing?  Over 200 years old and appreciated by so many generations of Kew visitors.

I too have my own E. altensteinii but my specimen is much, much younger than the one at Kew.  Just two years old, with proper care it will definitely outlive my generation.  I wonder how many generations will get to appreciate my plant? 

 The oldest pot plant definitely gives a different kind of high.

Turning Japanese (Part II - The Imperial Capitals)

I didn't just concentrate on individual plants on this trip, but gardens as well.  

From the Osaka Castle, we took a train to Nara which was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784.  Its historic monuments, as a whole, are considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Several of the buildings were undergoing restoration but I still enjoyed what we got to see.  It was a leisurely afternoon walk around the city and even the children enjoyed themselves.  

We first visited the Gojunoto (5-story pagoda) in the Kofukuji Temple Complex.  The pagoda was built by Empress Komyoh in 725 although the Kofukuji Temple itself was founded in 669.  It is the second highest pagoda in Japan. Wait i have to google the highest pagoda in Japan.

We then moved on to Todai-ji (Great Eastern Temple), built as the head temple of all Buddhists in 752.  Its main gate, Nandaimon (Great Southern Gate) was built in the 13th century.  Note the deer roaming around.  Because of legends, the deer have been and are regarded as heavenly animals that protect the city and the country.  They are quite numerous and roam freely around Nara.  One of them is probably a patronus spell from Professor Snape.  There's not a feeling of gloom at all.

Todai-ji's main temple building, Dalbutsuden (Great Buddha Hall) is allegedly the largest wooden building in the world.  Unfortunately, because of earthquakes, the remaining building is said to be only two-thirds its original size.  I still found it very impressive.

The temple gardens were serene despite of all the tourists.

The sunset was breathtaking.

The next day, we took another train to Kyoto.  Our first stop was at the Amida-do Hall of Nishi Hongwanji (Temple of the Original Vow).  Nishi Hongwanji was built in 1591 and is the head temple of the Jodo-Shin sect of Buddhism.  The hall is dedicated to Amida Buddha, the sect's most important Buddha.

Most interesting to me was a gingko tree in the courtyard.  The tour guide said it was between 400 to 500 years old!  It is very reminiscent of the whomping willow in the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Look at its massive trunk. Seems eerie and haunting.

Look at how gorgeous it is when it is not winter.Nishi Honganji Ginkgo Tree by geraldford, on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Second stop was the home of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Nijo Castle.  Within the 275,000 square meters of the castle, is the 3,300 square meter Ninomaru Palace.  it was built in 1603 and is made entirely of Hinoki cypress and its interiors are made of gold leaf and wall paintings.  Since it can easily burn down, there is no attached kitchen, no electricity nor any form of heating.

Along the side of the building is the path to the one acre Ninomaru Gardens.

The Ninomaru garden was designed by landscape architect, Kobori Enshu (1579-1647) who was also known for establishing Japan's tea ceremony.  Below is a view of the garden from the Ohiroma (Audience Hall) from which it was meant to be seen.

The garden is of shoin zukuri style. In the center of the pond is a large island known as Horai-jima or The Island of Eternal Happiness.  At its sides are two islands: Tsuru-jima or Crane Island and Kame-jima or Turtle Island).

The garden was really designed to make a visitor feel the Tokugawa shogun's power.  There are rare plants, water features and enormous rocks.

What caught my interest was the way they provided winter protection to a clump of Cycas revoluta (Sago Palm).  The following pictures are worth a thousand words -- or at least a hundred.

Last but definitely not least was our visit to Kinkaku-ji, more easily remembered as the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, whose history dates back to 1397.  This was originally the villa residence of another shogun but it became a temple after his death.

The design of garden complex is an example of the Muromachi bakufu (the era from 1336 to 1573).  North of the golden pavilion is the Kinugasa-yama mountain and to its south is the Kyoko-chi pond (Mirror Pond, see the reflection of the pavilion).  At the foreground is the only snow that we found.  My daughter called it "leftover snow" because it was from the week before.

Within the pond are eight islands or huge rocks that were donated by feudal lords. Do  you see the fishing deck of the pavillion?

The pavilion was previously open to visitors, however, that is no longer the case.  Now, only royalty and presidents are allowed inside.

Finally, I end this post with a plant.  This was the ground cover on the temple grounds.  I am not sure what kind of moss it is but I am leaning towards Polytrichum sp.  Either P. commune which is the most common moss in Japan or P. formosum which is also common in the gardens of Kyoto.  I would really appreciate it if someone can help me distinguish characteristics.