Flower for the Day Arctic Buttercup - Greenland 10-27

 During our recent trip to Greenland the buttercup (Ranunculous) was the Queen. It was in full bloom everywhere.

It can usually be distinguished from other yellow arctic flowers because the petals and sepals have a waxy shine, as if coated with plastic. 

And here it fills the meadows in Brattahlid, the site of Eric the Great's estate.

Flower for the Day Field Forget-Me-Not Greenland 10-21

This miniature flower is a field forget-me-not  (Myositus arvensis) (H.S.). The blossoms are smaller than the

forget-me-nots that came up from seed in my wildflower garden this year. 

Truly wondrous to behold.

Flower for the Day Arctic Harebell - Greenland 10-22

This is Arctic Harebell (Companula uniflora), delicate and resilient. It is more funnel shaped

than many of the other bluebells. It is very common on the tundra.

 

Flower for the Day Arctic Thrift - Greenland 10-21

I took a number of Greenland Flower  images on my trip. I have been working on identification for several weeks.

Friends have helped and I am down to four which I have not been able to identify. For the next few weeks as my gardens wind down we will have some interesting arctic flowers from Greenland.

This is Arctic thrift - Armeria scabra ssp.labradorica (H.S.). Also known as sea thrift, sea pinkand Paarmarsuaq (Greenlandic). Thrift is circumpolar.
This is a striking perennial which I have had in my rock garden in the heartland for years. Who couldn't love little pink balls made up of little pink flowers.

Don's Blog Greenland XIII There was a fungus amongus

Slow down - this could be interesting.

We were hiking on the western Greenland tundra and this little beauty showed up. This little mushroom is probably a Russula emetica. It is commonly called the sickener and is a basidiomycete mushroom.There are literally hundreds of Russula species. This one has a convex red cap (pileus) and a pure white stem (stipe). Distinct identification is difficult and may even require a expert with a microscope. In Kirby and Fatto's Online Key to Russula Species in North America there are 83 species that have red caps and white stems.

Some have suggested that Russula emetica can be specifically identified in the field by taking a small taste which should, in an R. emetica, result in a peppery bitter taste with associated nausea and vomiting. I make no such recommendation and prefer to observe this little red top mushroom and enjoy it in its natural surroundings. I never eat non commercial mushrooms. 

Don's Blog Greenland XII Lichen 2 10-19

Map Lichen (Rhizocarpon geographicum) grows closely attached to igneous rocks such as granite and quartz.  It looks like someone has applied greenish dots on a black background. As it intermingles with other lichen it looks like a colorful map.

Although difficult to interpret, this map helped us find our way back to the ship.

Don's Blog Greenland XII Lichen 1 Rock Tripe 10-16

Oh,Oh it looks like the Greenland Blog just will not end. These next two are about lichens - something we all can identify but few can say much about it.

Lichens are made up of a combination of a fungus and an alga. Although previously described as a symbiosis scientists now see the interrelationship of fungi and algae as a finely controlled parasitism in which the fungus is parasitic on the alga. The lichen forming fungi are able to capture the alga and put them to use to form a lichen. This benefits the fungus in that the alga cells carry on photosynthesis utilizing the sunlight to produce food especially sugar alcohols to supply the fungus allowing the formed 'lichen" to grow. The lichen is a composite organism which has plant-like properties but is not a plant. It is estimated that 6% of the earth's land surface is covered by lichens. Some lichens have been considered to be among the oldest living organisms. Their slow steady growth rate has been used to date events. By convention the scientific name of the lichen is the same as the fungus present and not the alga. Recent perspectives on lichens indicate that they are relatively self-contained ecosystems in and of themselves possibly with microorganisms living with the fungi, algae, and/or cyanobacteria making this a holobiont.

Below is rock tripe (Umbilicaria) which are black leathery-looking lichens which adhere to predominately no-calcareous rocks. Its growth form is called crustose which indicates that it grows on the surface with its edges curled looking like peeling paint. 

On their trek across the barrens from the Hood River to Fort Enterprise the starving men of the Franklin expedition of 1819-1822 ate these lichens. As a result they were further weakened by nausea and diarrhea.The lichens contained not only  rock particles but also high levels of acids which irritated their intestinal tracts. To make them edible would have required boiling them with several changes of water and adding baking soda to counter the acidity, steps that were not available to these intrepid hungry explorers.

Flower for the Day Persimmons anyone? 10-15

The persimmons are almost ready. We usually wait until the first frost but some are almost purple. These are in a tree by the screen porch at

the Lake House. Come by in a week or so and help yourself.

 

 

#11 The Final Bloom

Last night the small but powerful Night Blooming Cereus came up with its last bloom of the season.

IMG_2265.JPG

 

Flower for the Day 10-14 It won't stop blooming.

We brought our night blooming cereus plant inside about a month ago. About two weeks ago three new 

blossoms appeared. These were blossoms 9, 10 and 11. Last night numbers 9 and 10 bloomed.

Notice how the bloom comes right off the leaf.

 

Number 11 will bloom tonight.

 

An amazing flower.