Sphagnaceae is the reason why I became interested in bryophytes, and it was one of the subjects of my high school research projects. There are several species in my area, but they are incredibly inaccessible because every single creek and waterway is almost overdeveloped, private, or they are located in parks that are always closed when I have free time (that phrase means nothing nowadays). I wish sphagnum mosses were more resilient to climate change because the last ones on my parent’s property died years ago due to the increasing summer heat and dryness. About the Sphagnaceae family specifically…I personally don’t like the way they smell when they burn.
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Next time you come to Darwin check out the Howard Sand Plains. Tumbling Waters is at one end of that and if you go along the creek running there at certain times of the year every little flower is carnivorous.
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Cannot decide between Thymeleaceae and Ericaceae, and I have a similar qualm with both of them - much of their diversity is found unreasonably far from me (both in similar habitats at least; I think highest diversity is found is South hemisphere mediterranean heath (SW australia and Cape), but Ericaceae is also quite diverse in (sub)tropical mountains and disproportionally represented in tundra).
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Living as I do in the harsh, exposed Atlantic Coastal Ecoregion, I have an intimate relationship with Ericaceae which are plentiful in the nearby areas I regularly explore. It is hands-down my favourite of all plant families.
I love them for thriving in bogs and scrubby granite plains inhospitable to other plants: the rugged trailing arbutuses nestled in meagre pockets of soil on exposed granite—sheep laurel, swamp laurel, labrador tea, broom crowberry…; for the splashes of colour and delicate beauty of rhodora and leatherleaf in early spring; for the abundant yield of edible berries in summer and fall: blueberries, black huckleberries, cranberries…; for the year-round aromatic delights of wintergreen and the dark greens, reds and purples of their leaves, punctuated by bright red berries; and for the dazzling red carpet of heaths taking over from the brilliant autumnal show of colours by the trees after they have all faded to dull brown, a palette that persists long afterwards even into winter until it starts to be engulfed by the whiteness of snow. I can’t think of any other family that fills the senses, lifts my spirits, and evokes wonder in me quite so much as the lowly heaths.
While globally, there are thousands of kinds of heaths, taking numerous forms from the low, scrubby plants I’m familiar with to towering trees, mere dozens of them are within my reach locally. But this is more of a “me problem” than the fault of the heaths themselves!
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Amazing. Making a note
I’m a Loranthaceae (Showy Mistletoe) tragic. I hate that people have such a negative image of them that they kill them at every opportunity.
I looked them up and they seem to be hemiparasites, which perhaps carries negative connotations to lay people in general.
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Ugh, that’s sad. I think there will be a lot of changes to the biogeography of species as things progress.
As to bryophytes in general, I think the In defense of plants podcast featured them a couple times (or more).
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Eloquent descriptions.
When I lived farther up North this was a problem I had as well, in that the species that i was most interested in lived down south. I compensated by taking an interest in more local plants AND by turning vacations into mini botanizing expeditions.
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At first glance not.
But if the plant has very specific needs which occur only very locally, it may pay-off.
If the presence of said fungus guarantees that these needs are fulfilled and if the symbiosis allows to miniaturize the seeds to cover large distances, the species may bridge large spaces in a short time as fast as fungus spores fly. Maybe faster than glaciers can melt away or desertification progresses.
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My favorite plant is whatever one I’m looking at, and a thing I hate about it is the fact that I lack the brains to Id it ;-;
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My favourites are tied between Malvaceae, Araliaceae and Bignoniaceae, even though I’ve mostly identified genera in the Sapindaceae (Acer, Aesculus, Billia, Handeliodendron, Filicium, Koelreuteria). I think my tippy-top favourite is Malvaceae though.
One thing I dislike about it is how popular for other identifiers to ID it seems to be. This is probably a misleading assumption though, since of course there are ever more observations to identify. Also, leaf morphology is not very informative for the identification of Malvaceae, as far as I know
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Melanthiaceae? I swear that’s off the top of my head
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Passifloraceae are so awesome. I just wish there were more temperate species. I don’t get to see enough on a regular basis…
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Most orchids are epiphytic, which means if the seeds are carried TOO far it may go beyond the forested area though. I’ve always wondered why they have such tiny seeds that (I assume) depend on wind, when pollination depends on insects and other animals.
I’m happily surprised by the variety of plant families mentioned by people (many of which I have not heard from before and had to search for). i was thinking we would be stuck with the usual, like Compositae/Astereaceae and Orchidaceae, Araceae and the like.
Oh, and it seems that the #1 regret is that there aren’t more of the species members nearby.
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Have you listened to the podcast about that family on In Defense of Plants?
I love Oxalidaceae. How could anyone not? Usually these plants have very cute flowers and trifoliate leaves that are often heart-shaped (but the palmate ones look awesome as well).
There’s one species (Oxalis corniculata) which grows as a weed in gardens here and it is THE WORST to remove. Like, trying to get rid of it completely will teach you hate. It often grows in fine cracks between stones or roots and has pretty elaborate rhizomes (in the var. *repens* at least). If you try to pull it out you always just end up with a few leaves in hand, leaving the rhizome completely unharmed, so now you have to wait for like a week for your next try.
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The exploding seed pods on Oxalis are really cool (and annoying, sometimes)!
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Sadly, it isn’t just laypeople. Plenty of arborists and land managers take the same approach.
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Brassica oleraceae would like a word…
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