#franklinia Alatamaha

[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)

[cammyouplant]

Franklinia alatamaha / Franklin Tree

PLANT COMMUNITY:  N/A

NATIVE REGION:  Southeastern United States

MATURE SIZE:  Height of 10-20', spread of 16-15'; rounded to conical dense crown

HABITAT/GROWING CONDITIONS:  Prefers well-drained, rich, acidic soil; needs moisture; partial sun to full

ECO-INDICATOR:  N/A

HARDINESS ZONE:  5-8

LEAF COLOR:  Arrow, oblong-obovate, glossy dark green leaves; turn quality shades of orange, red, and purple in autumn

FLOWER COLOR:  Camellia-like, cup-shaped, 5-petaled, sweetly-fragrant, white flowers; each flower sports a boss of egg-yolk yellow center stamens

FRUIT COLOR:  Dry, rounded, brown fruit

VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:  N/A

SOURCES:  http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/detail.php?pid=183; http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=q160; https://plants.usda.gov/java/charProfile?symbol=FRAL

[eda11y]

Franklinia by arbor

[donalddelahaye]

#nature : Franklinia by arbor http://ift.tt/2bZbEGT

[kwiatyogrodowe]

[plantsandtomfoolery]

Franklinia - Franklinia alatamaha

native to Georgia/SE US

Best grown in organically rich, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Must have good soil drainage

eco-indicator no

hardiness zones 5 -8

typically grows as a single-trunk tree with a rounded crown or as a multi-stemmed shrub. As a single trunk tree, it can grow to 20’ tall or more, but is more often seen growing much shorter. Camellia-like, cup-shaped, 5-petaled, sweetly-fragrant, white flowers (to 3” diameter) bloom in late summer to early fall. Each flower sports a boss of egg-yolk yellow center stamens. Narrow, oblong-obovate, glossy dark green leaves (to 5” long) turn quality shades of orange, red and purple in autumn

[treesseenbyzoe]

Franklinia alatamah - Franklin Tree

Family: Theaceae

Size: 10 to 20 feet tall, some as tall as 30 feet; 6 to 15 feet in spread (Dirr)

Leaves: Simple, alternate, narrowly obovate with finely serrated edges, 3 to 6 inches long (Virginia Tech)

Buds: Buds are hairy and taper to a point (Virginia Tech)

Habitat: Rich, medium moisture soil with good drainage, full sun to part shade (Missouri Botanical Garden)

Hardiness: Occurs in zone 5 to zone 8, sometimes 9, or -20 to 30°F (Dirr)

Native Region: Native to southeastern United States, Georgia (Missouri Botanical Garden)

Additional Information: Hard to transplant because of its fibrous root system (Missouri Botanical Garden)

[identifyingplants]

Franklinia alatamaha // Franklinia

[facetnation]

Autumn Wildflower Muses

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[olivernurseries]

Franklinia alatamaha                                                             

            Do you have a Franklin tree? No matter where you have it planted in the world, your tree is a descendant from the first seeds ever collected. Franklinia alatamaha was discovered by John Bartram and his son William in 1765 along the Altamaha River in Georgia, United States.  Originally misspelled in the species as alatamaha instead of the river name Altamaha, Franklinia alatamaha is a flowering tree commonly called the Franklin tree. William noted that they never found the plant anywhere else but at the 2 or 3 acre plot where it was first discovered. Don't go trekking through the woods looking for the original spot though; it is extinct in the wild, having disappeared in the early 1800s. Franklinia alatamaha has survived as a cultivated ornamental tree from seeds John and William collected and sent back to England, while also growing his own in his home town of Philadelphia.

            William named the plant to a new genus, Franklinia, in honor of his father's close friend Benjamin Franklin, a horticulturalist in his own right who took a strong interest in the plant. Originally thought to be a member of the genus Gordonia, Franklinia is thought to be closer in relation to the Asian genus Schima. Franklinia, a monotypic genus (meaning only one species), is a member of the tea family Theaceae.

            A notoriously difficult tree to cultivate, the Franklin tree prefers sandy, high-acid soil, and does not do well with excessive moisture or compacted clay soil. The seed capsules take anywhere from 12-14 months to mature. The flowers are large, pure white with yellow, fragrant centers. The obovate leave's (teardrop-shaped) petiole attaches at the tapering point, and turn bright orange-red in the fall. It will grow to the modest height of roughly twenty feet.

            Our Franklin tree in the garden is now in bloom. The flowers will take this already unique plant to the next level. Swing by the nursery and have a look as we still have a few in stock for that perfect spot you've been saving. See a part of horticultural legacy 250 years in the making.

[studiosfaust-blog]

Ben Franklin Tree Flower

property of faust studios© 2011

[kwiatyogrodowe]

[kwiatyogrodowe]

[identifyingplants]

Franklinia alatamaha // Franklinia

[identifyingplants]

Franklinia alatamaha // Franklinia