Tag Archives: funky plant

Monkey Puzzle Envy

10/30/2021 svseekins Leave a comment

Half a block along our street grows a tree I admire.

It’s evergreen.
It’s super tidy & symmetrical.
And it’s just so FUNKY looking.

monkey puzzle tree, Araucaria araucana, monkey puzzle tree, monkey tail tree, piñonero, pewen, Chilean pine, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

The Monkey Puzzle Tree, Araucaria araucana, is the national tree of Chile but seems to grow happily all along the coast of the Pacific Northwest.

That said, I reckon there’s no danger of it overwhelming the gardens hereabouts. That beautiful symmetry is created by triangular leaves spiralling around the branches and even along the trunk. The rigid leaf edges are sharp & the tips are severe needles.

It’s downright dangerous.

Even still, I NEEDED one in our garden.

No gardener of sound mind would position a Monkey Puzzle Tree near a high traffic area — nor underplant with high maintenance perennials.

Ever so carefully, I installed a Monkey Puzzle in an out-of-the-way section of our yard. I mulched from the trunk to the dripline. The very first season, a large buck attacked it with his antlers. I watched in amazement. I’ll bet the deer walked away with a migraine. The poor sapling survived with only 1 broken branch.

The Araucaria lasted maybe 3 or 4 years before it had sliced C one too many times.
He disappeared it. 😦
It hadn’t had the opportunity to grow to more than 3 feet.
So sad, but I understood.

The neighbour’s Araucaria was here when we arrived in the ‘hood. Over 15 years, it’s grown from a sturdy 6 ft. to an impressive 30 ft tall. (It takes patience to grow a Monkey Puzzle). They’ve limbed up the branches so whoever mows the lawn is much safer.

One day soon, I’m hoping it’ll be mature enough to produce cones. Can you imagine how pre-historic they’ll look, too?

I’ll happily admire it from afar.

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evergreens, months 01-03: winter, months 04-06: spring, natives, perrennials

Prince’s Pine

02/28/2019 svseekins 2 Comments

Typically I curse steep switchbacks. They are exhausting!

blooming evergreen prince's pine, sub-shrub, Chimaphila umbellata, occidentalis , pipsissewa, umbellate wintergreen,, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Now, I have reason to appreciate them. One trail in Strathcona Park is so steep that the inside slope is only an arm’s reach away. I have close-up views of the tiny plants that don’t usually catch my attention. I stop, puffing for a few moments, taking in the forest’s carpet of mysteries.

At first, the evergreen plant, Prince’s pine, escapes my notice.

But then, my eyes spy the wildflower buds – such a delicate pink!

Further along the path, I find specimens in full bloom. And some already setting seed — in early June. 🙂

The tiny, waxy-looking blossoms are such a contrast to the deep woodland duff of the understory. Enchanting. (There must be faeries nearby.)

I delight in the flowers while mourning that Chimaphila umbellata is probably not suited to our own garden. (Yes, our garden is well-drained, but it’s shaded by Garry oak– not conifers.)

Back at the campsite, the mini-shrub is confirmed by Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast (my wild plant Bible). Woo Hoo — one more native plant in my repertoire.

It’s not until a wintery February morning, while attending Seedy Saturday that I meet Andy McKinnon, co-author of my treasured plant ID book. He teaches me this science word for today.

Mixotrophic.

Prince’s pine is mixotrophic. It has a friendly relationship with the fungus in the ground.

Like many plants, through photosynthesis, Prince’s pine produces sugars (its food). It shares those sugars with fungi. The fungi, in return, offer up access to nutrients from the soil.
Friendly, eh?
But wait – there’s more…

Prince’s pine & this fungi take their relationship a step further.

The fungi in the soil also connect to another plant (other than the Prince’s pine). Through this threesome, the Prince’s pine can get sugars from this other plant. Neighbours helping neighbours in times of need…. all through a fungi trade route.
(That’s Mixotrophic)

Isn’t Nature amazing?

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months 04-06: spring, natives, perrennials

Vancouver Groundcone – Boschniakia hookeri

06/04/2018 svseekins Leave a comment

It was high on my list to search for when we went camping with friends near Tofino in mid-May. On the very first day, a young friend spotted one & brought it to my attention. Score!

Vancouver groundcone, poque, corn cob, Boschniakia hookeri or Boschniakia strobilacea, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

It’s included in a list of ‘oddballs’ in my favorite field guide (Pojar & MacKinnon’s, Plants Of The Pacific Northwest Coast.) Who needs space aliens when we have mysteries like this on earth? Is it a flower? Mushroom? Fungi?

It’s called a Vancouver groundcone, & I can see why. The shape is so similar to a spruce cone standing upright. Another name is Poque – an anglicized version of an indigenous word.

The unusual coloring indicates the groundcone lacks chlorophyll, & that means it can’t produce its own sugars. For food, it depends on others. It’s a parasitic plant, that taps nutrients from a salal and sometimes kinnikinnick.

Both salal & kinnikinnick are common on our coastlines, so you’d think there’d be plenty of groundcones. Perhaps there are more around, but I just haven’t been looking for them before?

Boschniakia hookeri grows in the moist (summer dry) coastal lowlands from Haida Gwaii in Central Coastal BC to Northern California. This is the first time I’ve ever seen any. Go figure. Perhaps because they don’t need sunshine, they’re more common in shade, and more difficult to see?

Aside from the yellow specimens I saw, Poque is found in a variety of colors from light yellow to brown to red or purple. I suspect the yellow contrasts more with its environment, so is slightly easier to spot. Once young WC showed me a few he’d spotted, I was able to find a few myself.

Now that I’ve checked this plant off my list, next up are more oddballs: Indian Pipe & Pinesaps. Wish me luck!

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