Topic 23 of 41: Wildflower Gardens
Sun, Apr 9, 2000 (20:02) |
Wolf (wolf)
2 responses total.
Topic 23 of 41 [garden]: Wildflower Gardens
Response 1 of 2: HostaToo (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 8, 2002 (21:22) * 92 lines
The magnificent Greek spring flora
Many plants evolve life cycles like dormancy to survive the summer drought
BY JENNIFER GAY
EACH spring Greece hosts a magnificent display of
spring flora - hillsides are a joy to see with carpets of
annuals such as anemones, annual daisies, golden
dandelions, poppies, chrysanthemum, vetches and
anthemis, and bulbs such as ashphodels, crocus, tulips
and grape hyacinth (see end of article for botanical and Greek names).
What brings about this phenomenon? Why do all the flowers bloom together
during spring time?
The answer lies quite simply in survival strategies. Many plants have developed
ways to survive the summer drought, by evolving plant life cycles that include
summer dormancy. Bulbs, corms and tubers survive by spending the summer
safely underground; annual plants complete their growth and flowering from
autumn to spring and their seeds survive the summer months in a dormant state.
Hence, the magnificent floral display in the favourable spring period, before the
big summer heat.
Bulbs (known in the world of botany as geophytes) have underground food and
water stores that allow the plant to escape from the drought. Geophytes are
classified according to the part of the plant that acts as a food store. For
example, true bulbs, such as the Onion or Lily, adapt their leaves to become a
fleshy underground organ that can store food and water. Corms, such as
Gladiolus and Crocus, are swollen portions of underground stem. Iris grow
from rhizomes, which are in fact horizontal fleshy stems. Begonias sprout from a
tuber, a fat underground stem that is shorter and thicker than a rhizome.
These underground food stores expand in favourable conditions to produce
leaves and flowers. They replenish their resources during the wet season from
soil nutrients and also from photosynthesis, the process through which a plant
traps sunlight to make food, flowering during late winter and spring. During the
hot dry months of late summer, most geophytes become dormant, storing their
accumulated food supply while showing little or no sign of life above ground. In
autumn or spring plants sprout again in response to favourable conditions of
moisture and temperature. These characteristics are well suited for plant survival
in drier regions of the Mediterranean climate.
Annuals on the other hand, the second main
performers in the spring display, have evolved a
speedy life cycle; the Mediterranean way of life must
suit them, as they are more diverse and abundant in
this climate than in any other, with particular success in
drier extremes of the climate. On the drier eastern
Mediterranean shores of Israel, 50 percent of the total plant species are
annuals, and though I could not locate the percentage for Greece, a significant
proportion of the plants here are annuals. They create spectacular flower
displays, especially in open coastal scrub and grassland, appearing after
favourable winter and spring rains. Annuals are also found in woodland and
maquis, particularly noted as the first to appear in the succession of plants which
follow wildfires.
The short life cycle of annuals makes them well adapted to a brief season of
rainfall - the seed germinates sometime in autumn or winter. Seedlings grow and
produce foliage in winter and early spring, when soil is moist and becoming
warmer, and the air temperature is rising. With warmer sunny weather and
continued availability of water, the plant concentrates all its energy into first
producing flowers, and afterwards, an abundance of seeds.
After they are dispersed, seeds from many species can
survive for long periods, often for many decades, until
moisture, light and temperature conditions are right for
germination. So should adverse conditions occur, the
seed will wait until better times come their way before
it restarts it's cycle of life.
Remember it is important not to take wild flowers from
the wild, but seed collection from a small sample of a
wild population is the best way to introduce these plants to your patch.
Just a small sample of the delights of spring include (Botanical names/ Greek
names where known):
* Anemone (Anemone coronaria/Agriopaparouna/Anemoni, Anemone
pavonina/Anemoni Kokkini)
* Naples Garlic (Allium neapolitanum/Agrioskordho)
* Annual Daisies (Bellis perennis/Stekouli)
* Borage (Borago officinalis)
* Honeywort (Cerinthe retorta/Nekrolachana, Neroulakia)
* Golden Dandelions (Taraxus officinale/Agrioradhiki)
* Poppies (Papaver rhoeas/Paparouna)
* Crown Daisy (Chrysanthemum coronarium/Tsitsimvola)
* Vetches - many, but one of the prettiest and most common is Lathyrus
clymenum/Holokouki
* Anthemis (Anthemis chia/Papouni/Agriomargarita)
* Bulbs such as ashphodels (Asphodelus aestivus/Asphodelos); Star of
Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum/Ornithogalo); Tulips (for example Tulipa
undulatifolia/ Toulipa); and Grape Hyacinth (Muscari commutatum/ Mouskari).
much more http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.lst_by_rtopic?e=C&t=04&pt=G&p=M
Topic 23 of 41 [garden]: Wildflower Gardens
Response 2 of 2: HostaToo (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 8, 2002 (21:26) * 1 lines
How curious is the world and how small at the same time. I find many of the same flowers I grew up with in New York state the same flowers as Greece has in their wild flower fields. I'm sure many of these are also home-garen cultivated just as ours were.
garden conference 
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