Shortia : a newsletter of the Western Carolina Botanical Club.

X5

V- 3
#5

STOP LOOKING FOR Vol.' Ill, No. 4_l Dec. 1981--- IT WAS
NEVER ISSUED! !

VDT.JVF TT T SEPTEMBER 1981 NO. ? >

SHORT! A

A NtWSLtmR

O F THE.

WESTERN CAROUNP SOTfl A/ ICAL CLU S

CONTENTS or this ISSUE.

LOOK AGAIN

THE SPIDER V/ORT - RADIATION DETECTOR

PLAI'IT SYMBIOSIS

RULES FOR PRONUNCIATION

PUBLISHES QUflFTERLy

POFTUE.CLUB

EOnet?- HARvay K^qUSlL

LlTZKAKy Ct?n;e _ VZZNH KROUSEL

ald 'SECRcrr&Ry

Only rarely do we find it necessary to resort to using a
hand lens in order to distinguish between two species of plants

that are as tall as we are, but the
buttercup family, proves that it can happen.

genus

iimicnuga

in the

Cimicifuga racemosa (popularly known as Eugbane, Black
Cohosh or Black Snakeroot) is so conspicuous and so familiar
that we feel confident of being able to call it from twenty feet
away without fear of contradiction, but in doing so we often
forget that there is another species, americana.

There are not many factors to help
us avoid misidentification, either.

Vegetatively , tne two are very similar,
although Cj_ americana does not achieve
the stature of the larger specimens of
C . racemosa. The former is strictly a
mountain species and is restricted to
the southern part of the Appalachians at
that - but of course they both share
that territory. It tends to bloom later,
but in a given area their blooming sea-
sons can pretty much coincide.

All this
would make it
separate them
the fact that
an individual
take care of the problem
quickly and positively:

overlapping
difficult to
were it not for
a close look at
flower will

C imicifuga racemosa has
single pistil, which is
and sessile, with a

but a
stout

truncate style. americana,

on the other hand, has from
three to eight pistils each
of which has a slender stalk,
and the styles are awl-shaped.

There are other slight differences, mostly in the follicles

and seeds, bu'
need to know.

if you have the plant in flower this

ali you

THE SPIDER WORT

RADIATION DETECTOR

This is an account about one of our attractive roadside wildflowers that may
become a useful tool for mankind. We are acquainted with it, the early
spiderwort known as Tradescantia with its three ecually-rounded lavender
petals surrounding the six quite hairy stamens, each bearing a bright yellow
anther.

Recent studies by the Japanese scientist, Dr. Sadao Ichikawa in Japan and the
United States, indicates that cloned cr asexual ly-grown Spiderworts can be an
ultra-sensitive monitor of ionizing radiation.

Ke found that the cells of the hairs of the stamens change from blue to pink
in a few days after exposure to as little as 150 millirems of radiation.
Federal guidelines urge that the limit for exposure to man-made radiation
sources be no more than 170 millirems/year . The average person receives about
100 millirems/year from the natural background.

Dr. Ichikawa claims that this color indicator provides a greater sensitivity
to low level radiation than mechanical indicators. This claim is made because
mechanical instruments measure external exposure only, which is considered not
as meaningful a measurement for a living biological system. Because living
systems take up radiation internally, and indeed accumulate it, this scientist
said he felt the spiderwort was an especially useful monitor since it showed
the effects of internal exposure a few days after the fact. A human
population, however, would tauce decades, or even years to show the effects of
radiation- induced mutation.

Dr. Ichikawa is continuing his research by having other scientists grow plants
of the cloned spiderwort around nuclear plant facilities in the United States.
So, the spiderwort could become not merely a pretty roadside flower, but a
real lifesaver.

(Condensed from New York Times - April 2y, 1979)

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PLANT SYM3I0SIS

Broadly defined, symbiosis is an association of two different kinds of living
organisms sometimes for mutual benefit.

A number of these associations occur in plant life, of which a few come to
mind and I should like to share with you.

Perhaps the better known relationsnip is that which exists between our Pink
Lady-slipper ( Cypripedium acaule ) and a soil fungus. As we all know, this
Lady-slipper thrives best in tr.e rich loam of the woods.

It has been demonstrated that the related fungus, by means of its network of
tnre&ds (mycelium ), hastens the decay of the organic material that accumulates
in the woods, increases its acidity, and thereby prepares a growing medium
favored by the Lady-slipper. Just how the plant is beneficial to the fungus
is not too well known* but the relationship is essential. Transplanting a
Fink Lady-slipper is not often successful and only so if a considerable amount
of the fungus-infused wood loam accompanies it.

Let us consider tne Lichens. They are symbiotic associations in which a
fungus and an alga produce a joint body — each benefiting from this association.
The alga being a green plant capable of photosynthesis, produces food for
the fungus which, in turn, supplies moisture, shelter, and minerals for the
alga.

Cross section of a typical lichen shows that the matted threads (mycelium) of
the fungus are concentrated at the bottom where they attach to rock surfaces
on which the lichen usually grows.

Lichens are slow but efficient soil producers, disintegrating the rocks by
chemical action.

The generic name of Beech-drop is a give-away: Epifagus, from the Greek epi=
upon, and phagos=the Beech.

This rather insignificant, slender, much-branched plant is always found around
the base of our native 3eech trees. Although it produces its own food, it
cannot grow unless it is attached to roots of the Beech, from which it receives
its water and minerals.

In late August the False Foxglove ( Aureolaria virginica ) shows its bright
yellow flowers. They are usually found in colonies and if we look up we
find they are growing in a grove of V/hite Oak trees. However, this is not
a condition of true symDiosis. It is more a relationship of the two plants
where the Foxglove is oarasitic on the roots of the V/hite Oak.

HK

RULES FOR PRONUNCIATION

At one time or another, we all might as well face this issue head on.1

Most everyone has his own pet way of pronouncing the scientific names of our
wild plants and should be given due consideration and credit for his own
determination.

There are, however, some occasions when two persons having distinct and con-
firmed differences, actually have difficulty in conducting floral communication]

Gtner problems occur. Frequently I have had the temerity of correcting some
one eise's plant pronunciation and find, with humility upon consulting an
authority like Gray's Manual, that I was dead wrong.

But, 1st us all recognize — there is one correct way to pronounce any given
scientific plant name. A numoer of excellent puolications are available listing
many plant names with phonetic spelling and indicating vercal accents. Useful,
to oe sure, but unnandy. So, perhaps it might, appeal to some of us who wish to
oe correct, to learn by using the accepted rules on tne following page.

Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2017 with funding from
IMLS LG-70-15-0138-15

https://archive.org/details/shortianewslette3319west

Rules fcs prceueciatice

Use the English sounds of the Latin vowels and consonants while using the
classical Latin accenting.

Grave accent ) denotes a long vowel

and

Acute accent ( ^ ) denotes a 3hort vowel

Vowels

1.

/ •

4.

final vowels have long sound (alsine,
which is "ah" (Verna., Venn ah)

Final ss sounds like "ease"

Y is always a vowel with soft sound of i_ (diphyllus)

Two vowels together when not a dichthcng are always sounded

Y

ai-si-nee ), except "a"

/

separately (filifolia - fi-ii-fo-li-ah)
Diohthcngs

1.
2.
/ •
4.

5-

Consonants

ae and oe have the sound of long (e) in "me"
au sounds like (aw) in "awful"
ei sounds like (i) in "kite"
eu sounds like (u) in "neuter"

Diphthongs are always classed as long ( ' ) vowels

C and g h

av

e soft

(

)■

s

ounds

foil

owed

b\

e,

i.

Tf

J 9

a

o

, or '

(gyn

ahdra

-

J -

nan-d

ra

\

J

Cth'

and

cr V- a

h

ard

so

una

0

f

g as

giao

rus -

cu

ia-b

ru

s

Vi hen

the

wo

rd i

s

□ eg

un

by on

the

first

1

etta

r

is

3 1

1

ent :

ax.

emeu

s

- ni

— K,

us ;

c

u

er.iun

Ex. (Cedrus - 3ee-drus),

;e, c has the hard sound of k
'go" Ex. Candidas - kan-di-dus

oi' consonan

y * 7 V” ? .

psyllium - sil-i-um

Accenting

1.

2,

The last syllable is never accented

Words with two syllables are always accented on the first;

Ex. Veer - 'a-ser; and if a vowel, it is the
Words of more than two syllables, on the next to the. last, if
is Ion*. It is long if it ends .in a lon^vowei, a ciphtnong,
a consonant. Ex. alsine - ai-si-nee; anoenus - a-moe-nus
When this^. syllable ends in a consonant, the vo^l is snort,

Ex. decumoens - de-cum-bens

If the next to last syllable is short, the accent fal^s on t e
third syllable fron the end. Ex. dracontiun - .ra-con-ti-ta.

Condensed fron Vascular Plant Systematica, pages 72 and 75

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