#alatamaha

[thebotanicalarcade]

n13_w1150 by Biodiversity Heritage Library Via Flickr: Jardin de la Malmaison A Paris :De l'imprimerie de Crapelet, et se trouve chez l'auteur ...,1803-1804. biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43441889

[webweabings]

LET US LIVE LIKE FLOWER

Flowers: White Franklinia (Franklinia alatamaha); // Purple Delphinium (Delphinium elatum); // Orange Pansy (Viola x wittrockiana); // Green Hellebore (Helleborus argutifoluis corsicus); // Pink Impatiens (Impatiens walleriana); // Blue Flax (Linum usitatissimum)

[carolinawrenn]

Franklin Tree (Franklinia alatamaha)

[kaitlin-murphy]

"After John James Audubon (American Woodsman)" 2021.

Vintage posters, Franklinia alatamaha seeds, cotton, antique frame, plywood, plexi, glue, hardware, vintage lumber, iron oxide stain, light-reactive sound device, 1950s sound recordings of Vermivora bachmanii, vintage darning egg, vintage needle and spools, Sturnus vulgaris skull, wool socks knitted by Bobby Wilcox, original wallpaper digitally designed using copyright free historic images, printed by SpoonFlower Inc, self-published zine.

I was invited by Goucher College Curator and Director of Exhibitions Alex Ebstein to create this installation for the "Rediscovering Goucher's Lost Museum" exhibition in fall 2021. Documentation photos generously made by Vivian Marie Doering @vivianmariephoto on Instagram.

Artist Statement:

“On the whole, the task of turning Audubon’s original images into marketable engravings proved to be an extremely labor-intensive process that relied, almost immediately, on the work of dozens of artisans, often working directly under Audubon’s ever-critical eye. But the work process went well beyond the engraver’s shop. Unseen and unheralded others likewise made a critical contribution to the project: the papermakers who produced the huge, high-quality sheets Audubon required; the copper smelters who turned raw ore into clean ingots; the miners who extracted the ore from the earth in the first place; and so forth, back through all the prior steps of production. In that sense, The Birds of America was not just an extensive work of art, not just an example of the sole genius of the lone, struggling artist. It was, rather, an ambitious business venture that relied on a complex labor process and an extensive supply chain, an enterprise in which the artist became not just the designer of the work, but the administrative manager of dozens of people, many of whom could be called artists in their own right, and a marketer to prospective customers, many of whom he had to track down wherever he could find them, on both sides of a very wide ocean.”

--Gregory Nobles, John James Audubon: The Nature of the American Woodsman, 2017. p103

Beyond the ‘supply chain’ of compensated workers existed a backdrop of the truly Unseen and Unheralded – the enslaved Black people whose supportive labor was violently coerced; and the work of Maria Martin, an ‘artist in [her] own right’ whose labor was given, and taken, freely due to her faith and her standing as an unmarried, white woman in the Antebellum South. Utilizing the exquisite Martin-Audubon collaborative painting, "Bachman's Warbler", as a jumping-off point, this installation is a visual exploration of the cultural and structural scaffolding that made such erasure possible during that era, as well as two examples of natural history showcased by the painting that have been lost and found - the now extinct Bachman's Warbler (Vermivora bachmanii) for which this painting and a few short sound recordings are our best documentation of the species' existence, and Franklin Tree (Franklinia alatamaha) a species native to the southeastern US that narrowly avoided utter extinction thanks to the collectors John and William Bartram, and that now exists in scattered cultivation across the country.

This project is not meant as a wholesale ‘cancel’ of John James Audubon or early American naturalists – whose work, at times disturbingly tainted by prevailing beliefs and customs, nevertheless paved the way for the scientific fields of biology and ecology today. This installation is, rather, an acknowledgment of the conflicted entanglements between history, nature, people, race, gender, ideology, belief, imagery, and power.

Collections are essentially a grandiose form of appropriation, recontextualizing objects for myriad purposes. This installation plays with two traditions: collections and appropriation, by appropriating and recontextualizing Audubon’s work, as well as other historical illustrations from various collections, and using metaphor and allegory as tools to tell the story. It would not have been made possible without the help, labor, and/or support of many unseen and unheralded, including the anonymous archivists at the Internet Archive, New York Public Library Digital Collections, and Cornell’s Macaulay Library, collectors on Ebay, Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, and Bazaar in Hamden, the production team at Spoonflower, and most especially Alex Ebstein, Bobby Wilcox, Seth Adelsberger, Denise Wilcox, Patti Murphy, Wyatt Hersey, Jenny Rieke and Oona McKay.

[aisling-saoirse]

Franklinia Alatamaha - A Plant Extinct from the wild due to habitat loss from cotton farming

[kevinscottgardens]

11 au 17 octobre 2021

I flew with Mme. and James to Brussels and we stayed at a beautiful hotel that had been created in a dis-used church in Mechelen. Jody and Steve also know someone who works there, as it turns out. What a small world. This was the view from my room.

Early the next morning we headed to the very north of Belgium, so far north the property has a border with The Netherlands. It was a crisp, bright day after rain the night before. We were at Kalmthout, guests of Diane van Strydonck. Her father and uncle founded the International Dendrology Society (IDS) at Kalmthout in 1952, to promote preservation and conservation of rare or endangered woody plants. Her mother was a Slovenian-Belgian botanist and horticulturist, who worked extensively on the taxonomy and preservation of plant specimens, gaining an international reputation for her development of the Kalmthout and Hemelrijk Arboreta. It was a very special day.

The next day we visited Arboretum Wespelaar, near Brussels. It was a whirlwind trip of 48 hours and very nice to meet some extraordinary people working hard to display and preserve plants from around the world.

I spent most of the rest of the week cleaning seeds and planting the few cuttings we collected.

Cours de français hebdomadaire

une location de voiture - car rental

un retour de voiture de location - hire car return

tourner à droite - turn right

tourner légèrement à gauche - soft left turn

reste à droite - stay to the right

la prochaine sortie - next exit

la limite de vitesse - speed limit

un parking - car park, parking lot

des bosses ou des rayures sur la voiture - any bump or scratches on the car

un dos d'âne, le ralentisseur - speed bump, sleeping policeman

I spent the weekend over in Èze. Saturday, I was met at the station by Kate and Chris and we headed over to their new place which has just been gutted and the rebuilding is about to commence. Kate is taking a garden design course and has some very nice ideas for the future garden. It was really nice to see Kate and Chris; it had been over a year since we last saw each other at Elizabeth and Rob’s in London.

After the visit to the property and a leisurely lunch, I explored Beaulieu-sur-Mer for a couple hours before walking back to Èze-sur-Mer to meet up with Paul.

Paul is a friend of Rui, James and Gavin. None of them know each other and they all know Paul, and they all suggested I might like to meet him. He is a trained horticulturist and now is a guide around Monaco and the surrounding area.

On my way back to Antibes, I collected François at Nice airport. He’s here for just a few days.

Plant of the week

Theaceae Franklinia alatamaha Marshall

common name(s) - Franklin tree synonym(s) - Lacathea florida Salisb.; Gordonia alatamaha (Marshall) Sarg.; Gordonia franklinii L’Hér.; Gordonia pubescens var. subglabra DC.; Gordonia pubescens var. velutina DC. conservation rating - Extinct in the Wild since the early 19th century native to - Georgia, USA location - Arboretum Wespelaar leaves - dark green, glossy, simple oblong leaves, to 18cm long, turning crimson in autumn flowers - large, to 6cm across, cup-shaped, snowy white with a large boss of yellow stamens, in autumn; fragrant, and can flower with the autumn leaf colour, and blooms are only produced after a long, hot summer fruit - capsules habit - deciduous small tree or large shrub, 3-4.5m tall by 4m wide; crown rounded; twigs reddish, smooth habitat - acidic sand-hill bogs on low wet soils pests - generally pest-free disease - Phytophthora root rot hardiness - to -15ºC (H5) soil - acidic, wet soils sun - full sun to part shade, sheltered propagation - seed as soon as ripe at 10ºC to 18ºC (capsules require 12 to 14 months to mature; unlike almost all angiosperms, Franklinia alatamaha exhibits zygotic dormancy); root hardwood cuttings in winter or softwood cuttings in summer with bottom heat pruning - minimal pruning, only removing wayward, crossing or rubbing shoots in winter when dormant nomenclature - Theaceae - thea - the Latinised Chinese name T’e; Franklinia - for Benjamin Franklin (1706-90) inventor of the lightning conductor; alatamaha - from the environs of the Alatama River, Georgia, USA. NB - monotypic genus; In the past, some botanists have included Franklinia within the related genus Gordonia; the southeastern North American species Gordonia lasianthus differs in having evergreen foliage, flowers with longer stems, winged seeds, and conical seed capsules (Franklinia was often known as Gordonia pubescens until the middle of the 20th century); Franklinia is now thought to be closer in relation to the Asian genus Schima; recent DNA studies and examinations of floral ontogeny in the Theaceae place Franklinia together with Gordonia and Schima in a subtribe; hybrid crosses have been produced between Franklinia alatamaha and Gordonia lasianthus, and between Franklinia alatamaha and Schima argentea.

References :

Gledhill, David, (2008) “The Names of Plants”, fourth edition; Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 978-0-52168-553-5

IUCN [online] https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/30408/62077322 [6 Nov 21]

Plants of the World [online] http://plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:105657-2 [6 Nov 21]

Royal Horticultural Society [online] https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/21629/i-franklinia-alatamaha-i/details [6 Nov 21]

Wikipedia [online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklinia [6 Nov 21]

World Flora Online [online] http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000692148 [6 Nov 21]

SARS-CoVid-2 update (incidence rate per 100,000)

[sunset-wishes-upon-hill]

Pandora Chapter 17 snippet

Pandora: FF l Wattpad l Quotev

Pandora (Original):

Pandora (chapter 1-18) (WITH REVIEW FEEDBACK)

Pandora (chapter 1-18) (WITHOUT REVIEW FEEDBACK)

-------------------------------

Few days past since she last spoke or saw Demetri, if she doesn’t count the fleeting flash of him there and then. The majority of her time was spent divided between Gianna – if she wasn’t so busy with work and Jane who begrudgingly allowed her to stay in the garden as long as she didn’t act so ‘irritating’. Whatever that means. And didn’t make any mentions of her brother. Not that I want to.

“This is Franklina Alatamaha, a rare flowering plant that hasn’t been seen in the wild since 1800.” Jessica noted, holding up the encyclopaedia of plants and flowers she had borrowed from the castle’s library. The book, published in 1890, its condition were reasonably well kept but also loved from the spine that were cracked and dog-eared yellow pages.

Their interaction would often go like this; Jessica would speak, fill the silence and Jane listened – or ignored – while working the soils, watering, mulching and other labours Jessica didn’t know what use they were. Gosh, who knew gardening was so much work?! No wonder my grandmother spends the whole day in the backyard.

She offered to help but Jane had shot it down immediately after Jessica’s previous passing comment about her previous history with plants. Angela had gotten her a cactus from a gardening centre in Seattle; Jessica, even with her disinterest in flowers or plants, were excited at the prospect of nurturing a living thing, lovingly watered it and put it on her windowsill where most sunlight came into the house for the night. The next morning, it had died. She had never seen a dead cactus before; its limb were shrunken and dropped over the pot – it couldn’t be any more frank that it was no longer alive. Angela’s cactus was still thriving and growing. To this day, she had no idea what she had done wrong.

While Jane were busy with the hyacinth to which Jessica couldn’t help spotting a large smile, she had unwittingly wandered deeper into the castle with her encyclopaedia, playing a little game to match how many flowers and plants Jane had against the book. She failed to notice the faraway tower was becoming visible. The actual floor of the tower was shrouded with hawthorn bushes which grew thickly at the centre.

A chilled wind nipped her neck, billowing through her long, curly hair. The moist wind carried the particle of her scent toward the tower until it rested upon the tongue of two female vampires, seeking refuge from the lavish four walls of their rooms. The third vampire sniffed and blinked in surprise, recognising the smell of this individual human.

The more confident and leader of the ladies, with the darkest hair and deep crimson eyes, were the first to seek out the source. The second female, slightly fairer but with equally gleaming red eyes followed then the third right behind them.

Jane had been in motion of burying back the disturbed soil when her hands grind to a halt, neck snapping over her shoulder toward the path hidden by vertical hedges. The garden trowel landed on the floor with an audible clack. Jane was gone.

[cedar-glade]

Zoos botanical gardens serve a purpose other than aesthetics and serving gawking egotistical middle class parents trying to find new plants for their “English Garden” of invasive blight in the USA and to temporarily distract their kids.

I sometimes think about the early horticultural atrocities that plagued early botanical gardens and the zoo’s that attempted to house exotic plants for what was educational reasons. In the United States we know plenty of examples of specimens carrying pathogens(chestnut blight for example) or becoming an invasive after people wanting them for aesthetics and for erosion control after they destroyed their native landscape,(1896 world fair amur honeysuckle).

but, with that said, botanical gardens have served their purpose as a means to preserve plants and are extremely valuable for this reason. Many native American species are now extinct in the wild or were thought to be extinct in the wild for many years until they are rediscovered in isolated(otherwise doomed populations caused by extremely reduced genetic vigor) still have potential to eventually rebound due to the preservation of specimens through mass propagation in botanical gardens.

A few examples near and dear to me:

Iliamna remota, or Kankakee dune mallow, is a critically endangered species that requires fire for their seeds to germinate. Only two isolated populations (one along a railroad track, and one on an island on the Kankakee river), still exist and prior to the rediscoveries the species was thought to be extinct in the wild. Now, with a “family” of genetically different individuals preserved in a zoo’s botanical garden, the plants that were found along a railroad track after a fire(theorized to have been thrown out of a window by members of a Chicago Wildflower Society in the early 20th century), and the seeds from the sandbar. Enough genetic vigor is potentially available to save this species and it is even possible to buy seeds online.  

Photo from Illinoiswildflowers web page.

Franklinia alatamaha Or Ol’ Ben Franklin tree

John Bartram, who was a royal botanist for the English expeditions of North America appointed by King George III in 1765 was a fan of several mixed mesic ranges and areas with extreme riparian diversity along his trips and collected plenty of specimens and seeds for zoological botanical gardens and botanical gardens alike. In that same year of appointment as a royal botanist , John Bartram and his son William found a large population of a heather like single stemmed tree with fragrant leaves and attractive tea like flowers(because it is infact a tea) growing in a 2-3 acre section along a highly diverse segment of the Altamaha River in southeastern Georgia. Herbarium specimens were taken and sent to england and other coastal locations for diagnosis and description and small amounts of seeds were collected. A second expedition to the same region in 1773 brought William back to this place where more seeds were collected from this site and brought back to the Bartram's garden in Philadelphia where the tree was successfully propagated and distributed to a few botanical gardens and friends. Later on, after the early destruction of this region to promote agriculture and cotton, the spot was reevaluated with the population entirely missing. Meaning since its theoretical disappearance in the early 1800′s this plant has not been found outside of the botanical gardens acting as a refugium, the low genetic vigor of the plants means its survival is in jeopardy; but, has been propagated enough to where it has survived into the beginning of the age of Genetic modifications that can potentially lead to it’s rejuvenation of genetic vigor. At the moment it is possible to buy from both clonal and seed born origins.   https://www.izelplants.com/franklinia-alatamaha.html

Picture via izel and wendy cutler. 

Again we presumed and eventual demise of the Mexican blood cosmo or the chocolate cosmo; but, with genetic manipulation it may be possible to restore vigor from only one clonal individual.  Cosmos atrosanguineus.

Photo via flowers.org.uk

[uconneebgreenhouse]

Nice visit today from fine art photographer @dale.rio.photography shooting some of our endangered species for an upcoming project. Here we see the Franklin Tree, Franklinia alatamaha, in bloom (our quick & dirty smartphone photo - large format film photography takes a bit more time). This species was discovered in the late 1700s in Marshall County, GA, USA. It was brought into cultivation and the population was extirpated by 1803 and has not been seen in the wild since that time. Apparently extinct in the wild. #Frankliniaalatamaha #extinctinthewild #greenhouse #biodiversity #uconn — view on Instagram https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/vp/e60729c5ceff0a37179779cea45751b2/5DF737AC/t51.2885-15/sh0.08/e35/s640x640/69706802_599668637235373_775590187464917787_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent.cdninstagram.com

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Tuesday 10 October 2017

This rare deciduous small tree or large shrub, Franklinia alatamaha (Franklin tree) can sadly no longer be found in the wild. It is the only species in this (monotypic) genus with dark green, glossy leaves that turn bright crimson in the autumn while the fragrant white flowers appear. It has been described as “challenging to grow” needing a rich, moist, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade and disliking root disturbance or drought once established. This beautiful plant was flowering at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden Wisley, Surrey, UK, where I was fortunate to be meeting the new group of Master of Horticulture (MHort) students and the second years.

Jill Raggett

[almostasenior]

Pond Weeds

Jack Hill State Park-Reidsville Georgia

Gordonia Alatamaha State Park

Bee Happy 🐝

Alice

Cees flower of the day

Gordonia Alatamaha State Park

[nedsecondline]

Plants going extinct faster than we thought Franklin Tree, (Franklinia alatamaha), NatureServe Global Conservation Status: Possibly Extinct (GX) in the Wild. Plants: They seem more resilient than we are.

[masonsawyerfieldguide]

Franklin Tree • Franklinia alatamaha

Plant Community: N/A

Native Status: Native to Georgia. No longer found in the wild. 

Mature Size (h, w): 10-20 ft, 6-15 ft

Habitat/Preferred Conditions: Full sun to partial shade. Rich, moist, well drained soils. Intolerant of poor-drainage and clay soils. 

Eco-indicator: N/A

Hardiness zone: 5-8

Leaf Color:  Green (Summer), Red (Fall) 

Flower Color: White 

Bloom Time:  July-August

Theme: Showy flowers are known to attract bees (as seen above). The limited locations of this plant (it is not found in the wild) and the difficulty posed when growing it makes this an extremely limited resource for pollinators. Additionally, it is also susceptible to several pathogens making it overall not a consistent resource for pollinator species. 

Sources: 

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=287338&isprofile=1&basic=Franklin%20tree

https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/franklinia-alatamaha

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/franklinia-alatamaha/

https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=FRAL

[huntergyoumans]

My mini me makes my day. Love ya, Sebastian! (at Gordonia Alatamaha State Park)

[larc2430ricciardi]

Franklinia alatamaha | Franklin Tree

Plant Community:

Type: Tree

Family: Theaceae

Native Status: Southeastern United States, Georgia

Mature Size: Height 10′ - 20′ | Spread 6′ - 15′

Habitat / Conditions: John Bartram and his son William discovered franklinia growing in a 2-3 acre tract along the banks of the Altamaha River in southeastern Georgia. Franklinia has never been observed growing in any other place than along the Altamaha River. In a return trip in 1773, William Bartram collected seed from this site and brought it back to the Bartram's garden in Philadelphia where the tree was successfully grown. This tree has been extinct in the wild since 1803. It has been perpetuated in cultivation (all plants derive from the seed collected by Bartram) not only because of its rarity but also because of its attractive flowers and foliage. The current genetic base of this plant is quite narrow in large part because all plants currently in existence in the world come from the materials collected by the Bartrams. Franklinia belongs to the tea family and is closely related to Stewartia and Gordonia (loblolly bay).

Best grown in organically rich, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Must have good soil drainage. Consider raised plantings in poorly-drained heavy clay soils. Perhaps best in full sun in northern climates, but appreciates some afternoon shade in hot summer climates. May not be reliably winter hardy in the northern parts of USDA Zone 5 where it should be planted in a protected location.

Hardiness Zone: 5 - 8

Leaf Color: Green

Flower Color / Bloom Time: White | July - august

Medicinal Properties: No known medicinal uses.

Sources:

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=q160

https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=FRAL

[andrusmagnus]

Franklinia alatamaha