Monocot sightings in Tyler Rose Garden

Evidence that there were, in fact, roses.

My mother visiting me for the first time here in Texas was a prime opportunity to indulge myself in some idle plant gazing. Tyler has the nickname of "Rose Capital of the World," due in part to Tyler Rose Garden. Despite being late in the season after a summer of odd weather (cooler than usual, and comparatively wet), there were still quite a few roses in bloom. I even managed to stop for a moment to smell one and snap a picture.

Rain lilies, or Zephyranthes
(maybe?)

Leave it to me to go to a garden specializing in roses, which are eudicots, and pay the most attention to a few flowering monocots. Hence, the rest of my gratuitous plant pictures are a few exemplars of the diversity of late summer flowering monocots.

Onions, glorious blooming onions!

I found all of these plants in the IDEA garden, sponsored and maintained by Smith County master gardeners, so they certainly accomplished their mission of inspiring visitors.

Side-by side comparison of monkey grass varieties.

As an ardent admirer of plant diversity, I was delighted to find no fewer than four varieties of Liriope (monkey grass) growing in close proximity. Here you can see variation in leaf color (green, variegated, dark purple), leaf morphology (long, leggy vs short, compact leaves), and growth habit (clumping vs spreading).

Several varieties of agave

Given all the rose bushes in sight, it was a pleasant surprise to come across a xeric rock garden with several interesting varieties of agave. I'm working on a computational project with agave right now, so it's nice to be inspired by seeing the plants growing. I know there are lots of other resources in Texas for these and related species!

Monocots at Monocots!

I couldn't very well travel to the 5th International Conference on Comparative Biology of Monocotyledons and not post pictures of monocots, could I? I figured most of the other conference attendees would be covering the New York Botanical Gardens, so I took the opportunity to document monocots in the gardens at The Cloisters, a portion of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.






The Cloisters' gardens feature a variety of plants relevant to the medieval theme of the annex, including a wide range of plants used for food and medicine. Not a lot was blooming at the time of my visit, but I managed to snag a few shots of particular plants of interest. Shown here: Paris (above), Hemerocallis (right), and Allium (bottom).

I appreciated the museum's transparency in which plants were poisonous (something often overlooked by horticulturists), as well as notes in some portions of the garden about which plants were new additions and how the particular cultivars grew best.

Monocots at Evolution 2013!

Given my tendency to stalk plants wherever I go, including conferences and college campuses, it should be no surprise that I took some time photographing the most interesting monocots (to me) here at Evolution 2013 in Snowbird, Utah. First up (right) are some lovely irises, which are likely ornamental but more petite than those I'm used to seeing in the southeast United States.

Next (left) is a (rather blurry) false Solomon's seal, featuring the characteristic spray of white flowers at the tip.

I'm not one to normally get excited about grasses and relatives, but sedges are really adorable and this small one (right) was in full bloom.

My personal favorite (left) is this lovely onion in full bloom. My old labmate, Erica Wheeler, would know the species, but I just like the magenta color.

Then finally, I have an enigma (right). These vegetative stalks stood over two feet tall, and not a single flower bud was visible. Obviously I'm not very good at western United States/Rocky Mountain flora.

Sadly, no Commelinaceae, but still plenty of monocots to keep me entertained.

Monocots represent at Seattle Convention Center!

Hey, what's that over my shoulder? At least FIVE different orders of monocots represented in the Seattle Convention Center's plant displays! From the left: a bromeliad from Poales, snake plant (Sansevieria) from Asparagales, Calla lilies (Arales), some little decorative palm (Arecales) and wandering Jew (Commelinales)! As an added bonus, you get to see my "crazy from so much science after four days of conference" face. 

I had a great time representing NESCent here at SACNAS. The session on ecology, evolution, and human health in which I participated by presenting was well received, and there was a great discussion about public health policy and the biology of disease after the showing of Contagion at our movie night last night. Many thanks to Jory Weintraub for inviting me along and doing a splendid job organizing!