Five Kingdoms

I wanted to learn more about current thinking on taxonomy, so I turned to Five Kingdoms An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth by Lynn Margulis and Karlene V. Schwartz. It was published by W.H. Freeman and Company (New York) in 1998, and reprinted in 2001. I learned about this book while taking Plant Diseases at Merritt College last fall.

Carl Linnaeus originated the concept of binomial nomenclature and developed a classification scheme for living things in the 1700s, which included plants, animals, and vermes (for worms, or “simple” animals). As scientists learn more at the molecular and genetic level, new classification groups have emerged, and many living things are being reclassified and renamed to reflect the latest information. Five Kingdoms proposes five groups for living things – plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and protoctista.

The book provides an introduction, and sections on two super kingdoms – Prokarya (pro=before, and karyon=seed, kernel or nucleus, used to describe organisms that lack a nucleus); and Eukarya (eu=true, used to describe animal and plant cells). Each super kingdom is described, as well as each of their phyla. The text is very accessible, and information is presented visually with pictures, illustrations, and visual icons. From a plant diseases perspective, there are pests from all five groups.This is a great reference book.

The Ruth Bancroft Garden in Winter

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting The Ruth Bancroft Garden in winter with my gardening buddy, Ruth, and her mother Ruth (I was seriously outnumbered by “Ruths”). We picked a beautiful, sunny, crisp, Saturday (a welcome break after many weeks of rainy, gray weather). I reported on my visit to the garden in the heat of summer back in 2011, during which I took the self-guided tour (see The Ruth Bancroft Garden). One of my ongoing research projects this year is to visit San Francisco Bay Area gardens throughout the seasons, to study plants, trees, and infrastructure through seasonal cycles. This visit we took the docent-led tour, and learned even more about the garden.

Ruth's Folley winterized – visqueen protects the winter house, and individual plants

The Ruth Bancroft Garden is a collection of succulents, cacti, and plants from desert and Mediterranean climates all over the world. The garden is designed for beauty, not as a botanical collection by region, but plants are discreetly marked with tags, so you can learn their Latin names. Many of the plants are from extreme, harsh climates, so you would think they would do well in the heat of Walnut Creek. Our docent explained that many of the plants are adapted to cold weather and to wet weather, but not cold and wet weather. This presents some challenges for the garden during the Bay Area’s winter season of rain, frost, fog, and cold. One solution is to build framed, visqueen structures around some of the most vulnerable and tender plants (my folks in Southeast Alaska use a similar approach to protect a tender Rhododendron from snow, using burlap).

The pond in winter.

 You might think this practical approach would lessen the garden’s beauty. Instead it gives it a mysterious and other-worldly look. You can view a soft focus version of the plant through the visqueen, and then easily lift a venting flap for an unobstructed view and snap a picture. We found a surprising number of plants in bloom or close to blooming (apparently many aloes are winter-blooming). This attracted many pollinators, so the air hummed with bird and bee activity. We learned that many of the succulents have hybridized in the garden. I recommend taking the docent-led tour, and visiting the garden any time of the year. To learn more: http://www.ruthbancroftgarden.org/.

Protected tender palm	Cactus cluster with berries
Blooming barrel cactus	Texture

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Winter Movies 2013: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

For the last movie in our winter series, where plants play the starring role, I picked the Japanese animé, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind from 1984. The film was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and based on his manga by the same name, released two years earlier. The post-apocalyptic story takes place in a small kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind, set in future Earth. One thousand years in the past man had destroyed the Earth in a nuclear event, called the “Seven Days of Fire,” leaving small groups of survivors. One of the surviving groups is a small seaside kingdom—The Valley of the Wind—which is ruled by King Jil. They are ever threatened by the proximity of the Toxic Jungle and the presence of gigantic insect-like Ohm creatures from beyond the Sea of Decay, but kept safe from toxic spores by prevailing coastal winds.

 

In the movie, neighboring Tolmekian people want to destroy the Sea of Decay using the warriors that caused the holocaust. Acting on a hunch and connection she feels to the land, Princess Nausicaä seeks to understand the Toxic Forest. She is captured by the Tolmekian people, escapes, and takes refuge under the Sea of Decay. There she learns that the Toxic Forest is actually purifying the air. Armed with this knowledge, she works with the Ohms to foil the plans of the Tolmekian people.

What I love about this story is that the Toxic Forest is actually fungi! We learned in my Plant Diseases class that fungi “eat through their food” - they send out mycelium, which start digesting their food, and absorb the nutrients. Some fungi can actually eat through toxic substances, and render them harmless. Fungi are used in bioremediation to reclaim toxic soil and water; human hair mats inoculated with oyster mushrooms were used in the 2007 cleanup of the San Francisco Bay Area oil spill (the mushrooms are not contaminated)! Watch the trailer and look for the mycelium and reproductive spores: http://youtu.be/7wSba9hwCaU

Red Berries

Another pleasure of the winter garden is the native California Toyon bush, which is covered with red berry clusters from November through January. Toyon is useful for creating festive decorative arrangements for Thanksgiving and Christmas; for visiting birds looking for a quick meal; and for brightening rainy gray days in the winter landscape.


Toyon berries in winter.

Toyon has seasonal appeal beyond winter. In spring, it is covered with a froth of white blossoms. In summer the blossoms transform into green berries. The Toyon bush can be used as a privacy screen in the garden or landscape, and provides visual interest all year round.

 Toyon blossoms in spring.

Toyon berries in summer.

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Heteromeles arbutifolia (Toyon, or Christmas Berry) is native to northern and southern California, from sea level to 4000 feet, typically in the chaparral plant community. It is in the Rosaceae family, and grows as an evergreen shrub or small tree to 30 feet. Leaves are elliptical to oblong, four inches long, and leathery. Flowers are small, white, grow in large, flat-topped clusters (corymbose), and have sepals, five petals, and 10 stamens. Fruit is a berry-like pome. Keep in mind the berries are toxic, so use with caution if you have pets or small children.

Winter Movies 2013: The Grapes of Wrath

This month we’re taking a look at movies where plants are the movie stars. This week’s movie is The Grapes of Wrath, which premiered in 1940 and was based on John Steinbeck’s novel from 1939. In the movie, Tom Joad, played by Henry Fonda, returns home after a stint in jail to find his family has been evicted from their farm in depression-era Oklahoma, and is packing the car to head for California. The Depression, drought, and Dust Bowl have caused economic hardship. A marketing campaign has painted California as veritable Garden of Eden, and a way out for “Okies.”

The journey to California is filled with peril and death, and on the way the Joad family learns that the “milk and honey” of California has its own perils and hardships. Still, they determine to complete the journey, since there is nothing left for them in Oklahoma. The story is gritty and sobering – a family’s struggle with the land and change, waged against the backdrop of economic hardship and ecological disaster.

I recently watched the first episode of Ken Burn’s documentary The Dust Bowl, and learned more about the man-made ecological disaster of the Dust Bowl. Great expanses of the United States prairies were turned into crop land during the “Great Plow-Up”. The ensuing prosperity came to an end with a decade-long drought, resulting in dust storms of primal proportion. Turns out the prairie ecology required the deep roots of the prairie grass to stabilize the soil of the mid-west. Knowing more about the origins of the Dust Bowl, made the plight of the Joads, and many others like them, all the more gripping. It makes one wonder – could it happen again?

Moss

In our garden, the winter rains cause the greening of the moss. Over the years our small lawn has been replaced by various mosses. Most of the year the moss is dry and brown with a few stray blades of grass poking through. Moss covers the brick stairway and rock garden, decorates the planters, and crops up between the stepping stones. Within days of the first rain, the moss turns green and lush.

Moss strewn with camellia petals.

Moss lined stone pavers.

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Moss is frequently used in Japanese gardens by design. My husband and I visited the Butchart garden in Victoria one October, and were taken with the use of moss in the Japanese garden. The moss-covered forest had a magical quality to it. Moss thrives in moist climates, like the Pacific Northwest, but can thrive for a short season in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Moss covered rock garden.

Mossy back yard.

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Mosses are non-vascular plants in the Bryophyta family of land plants. They are herbaceous, small, absorb moisture through leaves and stems, use photosynthesis to produce nutrients, and reproduce through spores. Many prefer shade and acidic soil, require moisture to reproduce, and can survive desiccation for months.

Winter Movies 2013: The Milagro Beanfield War

Two times a year, I like to take a look at movies that feature plants as movie stars. In summer, I try to capture the youthful days of childhood and college, when the long days of summer vacation stretched out before us. In winter, I try to beat back the dark days while waiting for the longer, warmer days of spring. In past posts, we've seen some great (or so-bad-they-are-great) movies centering on plants, the plant world, and landscapes. This time I'm reporting on "political" movies, typically revolving around some environmental issue. Don't worry - the movies are entertaining and deal with their issues in unique ways.

The first movie is from 1988 - The Milagro Beanfield War, and is based on the first novel of a trilogy by John Nichols, directed by Robert Redford, and filmed on location in Truchas, New Mexico. In the movie, an under-the-table land deal involving a golf course leaves local farmers struggling without water for their fields. In frustration, one of the farmers kicks a water valve, inadvertently breaking it and starting the flow of water to his bean field. This kicks off an uprising of sorts by the locals, against the water use laws that favor a few.

The movie got mixed reviews, but I enjoyed the story telling, the dry sweeps of New Mexico land, the odd characters, the flights of mysticism, and the bigger issues of poverty, underhanded deals, and use of public resources for the private gain of a few. I also enjoyed seeing the cast, including many of today's popular stars, all 25 years younger. It is definitely worth a watch while waiting for warmer days!

Mushrooms

Winter in the San Francisco Bay Area typically brings rain. Native plants in the area are adapted for the long dry seasons of summer and fall, and the rainy season of winter and early spring. During this brief wet period, the dry hills turn green and vegetation becomes vibrant. Mushrooms emerge, and are a familiar sight in winter gardens or regional parks from November to January. They sprout up in the middle of the lawn, compost pile, or planting bed, leading some people to wonder if their soil has been infected with some disease.

Delicate capped mushroom emerging in November.

Pale mushroom muddy from early November rain.

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Mushrooms can be harbingers of bad news, such as the clusters of brown-capped mushrooms close to the trunk that may indicate Sudden Oak Death, or the decomposers that may indicate below-ground decomposition of dead roots. But they can also simply be the fruiting body of fungi growing in healthy soil. We learned about mycorrhizae in a past post, the fungus that lives in symbiotic relationship with tree roots. The mycelia of the fungus extends the reach of tree roots to moisture and minerals, while the tree uses photosynthesis to create nutrients mycorrhiza can use but not produce.

Gilled mushroom emerging from moss in December.

Bright orange mushroom cluster in late December.

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Mushrooms are members of the Fungi kingdom, in the Ascomycota or Basidiomycota phyla. In the past, fungi were thought to be plants without chlorophyll, but research showed the cell walls to contain chitin (similar to a crab) rather than cellulose. This makes them more closely aligned to animals than plants, so have their own kingdom. Mushrooms are composed of densely packed mycelium, with gills or sacs that produce asexual spores. They come in all shapes and sizes, and are fascinating to study. Caution should be used, since some are poisonous.

Looking Ahead to 2013

Happy New Year! Another year stretches ahead – a chance to try something new, to improve what was already started, or to just start fresh. I’m looking forward to having some extra time, since I won’t be taking classes, and reconnecting with neglected family and friends!

Looking ahead, I’m continuing my quest to learn more about gardens and gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area. This includes getting dirt under my nails! Some gardening goals for 2013:

• Learn more about native plants in the Bay Area, and visit them in situ.
• Identify common plant diseases that attack our Bay Area gardens.
• Understand how European gardening history influences gardens of today.
• Visit local gardens through the seasons to learn how to plan for year-round interest.
• Rejuvenate my garden beds, plant a few native shrubs, and replant my vegetable garden.

Plant diseases - pests in the garden and landscape.	Gardens - changes in the landscape through the seasons.
Garden history - the influence of European gardens.	Native plants - of the San Francisco Bay Area.

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I'm also planning to experiment with the blog a bit, so hang on! You might notice changes in look and feel, and in the publishing schedule; some may become permanent, others may be fleeting. As always, I hope you will join me on this quest!