This week is devoted to #Scrophulariaceae, a family that has changed dramatically since I first learned it. Things previously called Scrophs are now in Plantagin., Orobanch., Phrym. and other families. Has any other family changed as much? Scrophularia marilandica Debbie Roos CCBY2 #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

I’ll end Moth Week with the most famous case of moth pollination: the #orchid Angraecum sesquipedale, in habitat in Madagascar. Dawin predicted that a moth must exist with a proboscis long enough to reach the nectar deep in the spur. He was right! #pollination #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

I'll say it again: Not every visitor is a pollinator! This Saliunca styx visiting the flower of Murraya paniculata may or may not be transporting pollen as it feeds on nectar. We can’t tell from this photo. 📷: Adedotun Ajibade CCBYNC4 #pollination #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Micropterix calthella adults feed on pollen, including that of their namesake Caltha palustris, transporting pollen in the process. They are not the sole pollinators of this plant, but they are part of a network of floral visitors. 📷: Julie CCBYNCSA2. #pollination #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

We mustn’t overlook the little guys, the microlepidoptera. These are settling moths that land on the flower to feed. They are hugely important pollinators. 📷: Scoparia biplagialis on Solidago sp. by Jeanette Jaskula CCBYNC4. #pollination #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Yucca Moths are amazing pollinators. They gather pollen & intentionally place it on the stigma! Their larvae eat some of the resulting seeds. This is Hesperoyucca whipplei with a California yucca moth (Tegeticula maculata). #pollination #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Not every visit by a moth will result in pollination. This African Hummingbird Hawkmoth is visiting a cultivated Salvia, a species from the Americas adapted to hummingbird pollination. The moth is stealing nectar & can’t affect pollination. 📷: tjeerddw CCBYNC4 #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

This Giant Sphinx (Cocytius antaeus) is visiting a Hymenocallis sp. Notice the exserted stamens. They are out where they can deposit pollen on the moth. The stigma is exserted, too. Pollen will be transported on the moth’s wings. 📷: Standa Pavouk CCBYNC4 #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

In this amazing photo by Máté Menyhárt (CCBY2), you can see the pollen covering the proboscis. That’s why these moths are so important: They are very good at transporting pollen. They’re strong fliers, so they can move pollen over long distances. #pollination #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

To celebrate Moth Week, I’m posting all week about the importance of moths as pollinators. Let’s start with the big, flashy, hovering moths, the hawkmoths or sphinx moths, Sphingidae. Hemaris thysbe is one I often see because it’s diurnal, like me! #pollination #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Oxalis debilis 'Aureoreticulata' is infected with a begomovirus that gives it the gold venation. It’s one of the rare cases in which a viral infection increases the aesthetic value of a plant (cf. Tulip breaking virus). #Oxalidaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Some species of Oxalis have callosities on the leaflet margin, in the apical notch of the underside or scattered over the underside. These are clusters of cells filled with calcium oxalate. What is their function? Anti-herbivory? Calcium storage? Nobody knows. 📷: O. violacea. #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Oxalis noctiflora blooms at night with fragrant, white flowers. It surely must be pollinated by moths. It’s from South Africa. 📷: Brian du Preez CCBYSA4 #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Oxalis simplicifolia was described in 2019. It is a subshrub endemic to the Marquesas Islands, where it grows on cliffs & is Critically Endangered. It is unusual in having unifoliolate leaves, i.e., compound leaves, each with only one leaflet. 📷: Kenneth R. Wood CCBYNC4. #Oxalidaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Oxalis pes-caprae is a widespread weed native to S. Africa. Anatomical study shows a small notch at the base of the petiole. It is where the leaf breaks when pulled. This may be a case of autotomy—like a lizard shedding its tail—to prevent the plant from being uprooted. #Oxalidaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Here’s another woody member of the genus, Oxalis virgosa (formerly, O. gigantea; 📷: Patricio Novoa Quezada CCBYNC2). Evidence suggests that woodiness is secondary in Oxalis, i.e., woody species evolved from herbaceous ancestors. #Oxalidaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Oxalis psoraleoides subsp. insipida is unusual for the genus: it’s a woody shrub! It’s native to South America. Woodiness likely evolved more than once in the genus. #Oxalidaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Oxalis triangularis is a geophyte from South America with green leaves, but the commonly cultivated clone has purple leaves. It has an unusual underground feature: rhizomes with storage scales—they are like elongated bulbs. #Oxalidaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

This week: Oxalis, a cosmopolitan genus of almost 600 spp. It’s a diverse genus with everything from weeds to shrubs to garden-worthy herbaceous perennials. This is Oxalis tetraphylla 'Iron Cross', a cultivar of a species native to Mexico & C. America. #Oxalidaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

This is pretty amazing! I had to look at some more photos on iNaturalist to get a better look. It looks to have dextrorse contorted aestivation of the lobes, but the lower part of the tube appears to have revolute folding--sort of a pleated look. 📷: anne-outdoors CCBYNC4

If you are as obsessed with houseplants as I am, consider leveling up your houseplant skills with this new online class from NC Extension Gardener. I created Houseplant Horticulture to help you get the best out of your plants. Sign up soon to score the early-bird discount. go.ncsu.edu/houseplant 🌱

Although Rhododendron has united petals, the lobes still have an aestivation. This is R. 'Royal Windsor' with quincuncial aestivation. #Ericaceae #aestivation #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Corolla aestivation is easier to see on a large flower. Here is Muenchhusia moscheuta 'Balhiwhi' Luna™ White (#Malvaceae) with dextrorse contorted aestivation. But in other cultivars of this species, I see sinistrorse contorted aestivation (📷: Steve Law CCBYSA2). #aestivation #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

This is Brexia madagascariensis. It has sinistrorse contorted aestivation. The aestivation patterns are determined by the floral meristem very early in flower initiation. #Celastraceae #aestivation #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

In the Faboideae, aka the papilionoid legumes, the dorsal petal (the banner or vexillar petal) is outermost. This pattern is descending cochlear and holds for the entire subfamily. 📷: Crotalaria verrucosa. #Fabaceae #aestivation #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

In the legume family (#Fabaceae), the position of the dorsal petal is an important characteristic of various subfamilies. In the Cercidoideae & Caesalpinoideae, the dorsal or vexillar petal is innermost. This pattern is called ascending cochlear. 📷: Cercis canadensis. #aestivation #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Apocynaceae have contorted aestivation. Members of the tribe Plumerieae have sinistrorse contorted aestivation, e.g. 📷1: Plumeria rubra. In contrast, Cryptostegia madagascariensis (📷2) of the subfamily Periplocoideae has dextrorse contorted aestivation. #Apocynaceae #aestivation #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Quincuncial is an imbricate aestivation that is very common among plants with 5 petals. Gordonia lasianthus is a prime example. The 2nd photo has the margin positions labeled on each of the 5 petals. #Theaceae #aestivation #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Here’s another example of valvate corolla aestivation, this time in a palm flower (with only three petals, but you get the idea). These are the female flowers of Hydriastele dransfieldii. #Arecaceae #aestivation #Botany 🌾🧪🌱 2/2

This chart shows the common aestivation patterns for a 5-petaled flower (green circle is stem; green crescent is bract). Patterns above the line are imbricate (overlapping). The easiest one to observe is the valvate pattern: petal margins touch but don’t overlap. #aestivation #Botany 🌾🧪🌱 1/2