GardenDesignOnline

New Adelgid-resistant Hemlock

photos: ARS-Peggy Greb

The US National Arboretum's Agricultural Research Service has developed a hemlock that is not vulnerable to the hemlock wooly adelgid, which has wiped out huge stands of our native tree since it arrived in the U.S. in 1951.

The new variety, Traveler, is a cross between the native Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana) and the Chinese hemlock (Tsuga chinensis).  It has Carolina's same growth habit, a moderately slow rate of growth and it produces large, attractive cones.

ARS horticulturist Susan Bentz says trials of Traveler have been going on since 2000 and "we haven't seen any damage from the insects despite the trees being planted out among susceptible Carolina and eastern hemlocks." The new tree has averaged 11.5 feet in height after six years, and Bentz said all have survived. "It will make a very attractive specimen tree in a large yard, park, commercial site or as an informal large screen," she says.

The wooly adelgid has spread to 17 states from Georgia to New England and southwestern Nova Scotia.  According to the ARS, the insect has "virtually eliminated hemlocks as a marketable ornamental tree in the eastern U.S."

The ARS has applied for a plant patent for Traveler and is looking for commercial propagation partners to bring the tree to the nursery trade -- and hooray! to designers and homeowners.

 

 

Plants: Two in Top 10 New Species

Many of us think there's nothing much more out there in the plant world, but two plants made this year's Top 10 List of new species announced by the International Institute for Species Exploration.

The Nepalese autumn poppy (Meconopsis autumnalis) lives at an altitude between 10,827 to 13,780 feet and was found in the high mountain habitat of Nepal.  The vibrant, tall yellow poppy flowers in autumn, and scientists say there is evidence the species was collected in the past, but was not recognized as new until botanists rediscovered it miles from human habitation in heavy monsoon rains.

This slender orchid was found in Papua New Guinea by scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Leiden University.  They named it Bulbophyllum nocturnum from the Latin word meaning "at night" because its flowers open at about 10PM and close early in the morning.  The scientists believe it is the first recorded night-blooming plant among more than 25 thousand known species of orchids.

Entomologist Quentin Wheeler, who is director of the Institute, said the Top 10 is intended to "bring attention to the biodiversity crisis and the unsung species explorers and museums who continue a 250-year tradition of discovering and describing the millions of kinds of plants, animals and microbes with whom we share this planet."  This the fifth year that the Institute has released a "Top 10" list.  The release on May 23rd coincided with the birth date of Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist who devised the modern system of plant and animal names and classifications.

(photos: International Institute for Species Exploration)

Flower Regenerated after 30 Thousand Years

 

Svetlana Yashina

 An amazing story ... A team of scientists in Russia have grown this plant from tissue that lwas buried in frozen arctic tundra some 32 thousand years ago. 

The flower is a narrow-leafed campion that's reminiscent of the modern variety Silene stenophylla.  It was found in ancient squirrel burrows on the lower Kolyma River in Siberia by a team led by scientists Svetlana Yashina and David Gilichinsky of the Russuan Academy of Sciences.  Their report was published Feb 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

The team tried and failed to germinate seeds found at the site, so they then took cells from frozen fruit in the burrows and propagated them to produce the plants with flowers.

You can read further details about the study in an article that appeared in the New York Times here.

 

 

Pesticide Report: Roundup Causes Birth Defects

If you haven't yet heard the news, there's a new scientific report that says the world's most popular pesticide -- Roundup -- causes birth defects. The report is by Earth Open Source, a non profit group based in the United Kingdom that promotes sustainable food production through open source collaboration.

The report is not based on new research, but it brings together stideis done in countries around the world for a comprehensive view of the chemical.

You can read a summary of the report, with links to the original article here on the Huffington Post.

As for me, I find that a vinegar solution works just fine on weeds in my garden if you get them when they're small.

 

Nabbing Terrorists with Plants

Imagine a terrorist walking through an airport terminal ... and suddenly, the leaves on a potted plant near the check-in area turn white and the guy is nabbed almost immediately.  That scenario might not be too far off, according to Colorado State University biologist Dr. June Medford.

Dr. Medford and her team of researchers have shown that plants can be extremely sensitive to environmental pollutants and explosives.  Their scientific inquiries are funded in part by the Dept of Homeland Security, as well as the Office of Naval Research and DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, among others. 

According to Medford, some plants are as good as, or even better than a dog's nose at detecting certain substances.  "The idea comes directly from nature," says Medford. "Plants can't run or hide from threats, so they've developed sophisticated systems to detect and respond to their environment."  Medford and her team have "taught" some plants to detect certain materials by modifying the way the plant's proteins process chlorophyll.  With improvements, she says, plants may be able to serve as a "simple and inexpensive means to monitor human surroundings for substances such as pollutants, explosives, or chemical agents."

In research so far, the team has modified a plant's receptors to recognize certain substances in the soil or in the air, and an internal plant signal then causes the leaves to turn white.  (see diagram above).  The next phase is to concentrate on speeding up the detection time so that the foliage will react and change color almost immediately after it comes in contact with a dangerous substance or a bad guy.  Could put some of those human sleuths out of business.

 

 

 

 

A Celery Rose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, you'd think that something would come through from the celery, but it doesn't look (or smell) like it.

This lovely red rose has a celery gene inside it, and researchers at North Carolina State University say it's intended to help fight petal blight and extend the "vase life" of the flower.

According to Dr. John Williamson, the gene is "naturally found in many plants, but it's uncertain whether the rose already has it."  If it does, says Williamson, it doesn't produce enough of a particular enzyme to help it fight off the disease.

The research is just part of NC State's efforts to produce a better rose. The goal is to find a rose that can last for three to four weeks after it's been harvested.  If they're successful, maybe the price of those Valentine's Day roses will begin to edge down a bit.

(photo: Becky Kirkland, NC State University)