Re: VMS -- Botany (f24r) Silene/Campion

["Dana F. Scott" <dfscott@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

     Thank you Philip for your concurrence. One of the nice bonuses when attempting to identify the botanical drawings in the VMS is that
with a great deal of visual analysis, cross references from numerous sources, a certain amount of common sense, and a little bit of luck, we
are at least able to make a reasonable classification of the plants down to the Genus level. This is a useful effort since it will,
hopefully, reduce the amount of effort necessary in future analysis. To analyze a single plant may take close to 8 hours of effort. Some of
these plants are very difficult to analyze; however, I imagine that there are specialists within the Botanical sciences who could provide
very useful clues. For example, I have spent a great deal of time trying to identify the periscope-type plant in f28r. One might expect that
this is a relatively simple plant structure to identify, in part because of its unique identifying features. In fact, it does not seem so
readily obvious. The leaves are mid-way up the stem and there are not 2, but 3 sock-like cylindrical structures around the upper half of the
stem. What looks like the flower at the top is unopened or perhaps it is already an older flower. I imagine that there are a few botanists
who would immediately be able to classify this plant; however, it does seem to be somewhat of an illusive plant at this point in my
investigation.

Regards,
Dana

Philip Marshall wrote:

> I agree; I have been thinking for some time that f24r might be Silene.
>
> -Philip Marshall
>
> On Sun, 22 Apr 2001, Dana F. Scott wrote:
>
> >      The plant drawing in f24r appears to be related to the Silene
> > genus. S. latifolia is a reasonably close match; however, there are a
> > few mismatches: no dots in the petals, no flowers found with exactly 14
> > petals, and no heart shaped curves have been seen at the base of the
> > leaves. In general, though, the plant in the VMS does seem to have
> > features found in the Silene genus, which provides a reasonable place to
> > start.
> >
> > Photo:
> > http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/silenelati.html
> > http://www.wisc.edu/botit/img/bot/401/Magnoliophyta/Magnoliopsida/Caryophyllidae/Caryophyllaceae/Silene/S_latifolia/Flower_KS_.jpg
> >
> > http://www.wisc.edu/botit/img/bot/401/Magnoliophyta/Magnoliopsida/Caryophyllidae/Caryophyllaceae/Silene/S_latifolia/S_latifolia_KS_.jpg
> >
> > S. cucubalus:
> > http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/croplive/cropprot/weedguid/bladderc.htm
> > http://www.lclark.edu/~florance/planttax/caryophyllaceae/s_cucubalus.html
> >
> > http://www.wisc.edu/botit/img/bot/401/Magnoliophyta/Magnoliopsida/Caryophyllidae/Caryophyllaceae/Silene/S_cucubalus/S_cucubalus_KS_.jpg
> >
> > http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/silenevulg.html
> >
> > Notice the groove in the stem of the following dried specimen. This
> > compares nicely with the apparent stem grooves in the VMS drawings for
> > f24r.
> >
> > Stem Groove/Dried Plant (S. conica):
> > http://linnaeus.nrm.se/botany/fbo/s/bilder/silen/silecoi1.jpg
> >
> > Better looking leaves, but not quite the same as in the VMS:
> > http://linnaeus.nrm.se/botany/fbo/s/bilder/silen/silenoc4.jpg
> >
> > Illustration/Dried:
> > http://www.mta.ca/~rthompso/nativeflora/Thalamiflorae/Page27.html
> >
> >
> > Species:
> > latifolia ssp. alba:
> > http://mapage.cybercable.fr/mek/silene2.jpg
> > vulgaris:
> > http://mapage.noos.fr/mek/silene3.jpg
> >
> > Description:
> > http://www.gardenbed.com/s/3669.cfm
> >
> > Regards,
> > Dana Scott
> >
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Philip Marshall
> MESc Candidate
> Yale University
> School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
>
> tel: +1 203.436.2137
> email: philip.marshall@xxxxxxxx or pmm8@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
> "The pig was not merely a pig but a creature bound among other things to
> the fence, the dandelion, and a very special definition of property."
>                                         -William Cronon