Download October 31 - Montana State University Billings

From the Portland Oregonian, 1899, on a
man who grew incredibly large pumpkins.
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“Every day he fills a quart vessel with milk, places it on
the ground, and connects it to a slit in the pumpkin vine
with a rubber tube. The vine draws in the milk by
capillary or some other attraction. It was extremely
interesting to go out in the evening and see the owner
feed the pumpkins. The vines had become so used to it,
and appeared to like the milk so well, that they actually
rustled as the man with the milk approached. And when
the milk had been consumed, the vines settled down for
the night, as contentedly as a band of cows chewing
their cuds….”
Believe it or not…and Happy Halloween!
Milkfed Pumpkin?
Spongebob Pumpkin
Have it your way pumpkin.
Smashing Pumpkins
Cucurbitaceae
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Cucurbitaceae is a plant family commonly
known as melons, gourds or cucurbits and
includes crops like cucumbers, squashes
(including pumpkins), luffas, melons and
watermelons. The family is predominantly
distributed around the tropics, where those with
edible fruits were amongst the earliest cultivated
plants in both the Old and New Worlds.
Cucurbitaceae
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Most of the plants in this family are annual
vines but there are also woody lianas,
thorny shrubs, and trees. The stems are
hairy and pentangular. Tendrils are present
at 90° to the leaf petioles at nodes.
Leaves are exstipulate, alternate, simple,
palmately lobed or palmately compound.
Cucurbitaceae
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Many species have large, yellow or white
determinate inflorescences and flowers.
The flowers are unisexual, with male and
female flowers usually on different plants
(dioecious), or less common on the same
plant (monoecious). The female flowers
have inferior ovaries. The fruit is often a
kind of berry called a pepo.
Cucurbitaceae
Cucurbitaceae
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Flowers usually open for only a day.
Sepals usually 5, usually connate.
Petals usually 5, usually connate and bellshaped.
Stamens 3-5, adnate to hypanthium.
Carpels usually 3, connate.
Seeds flattened, the seed coat with
several layers.
Cucurbitaceae
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Major genera worldwide:
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Cayaponia, Momordica, Gurania, Sicyos
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Major genera in continental United States:
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Cayaponia, Cucumis, Cucurbita,
Cyclanthera, Echinocystis, Iverbillea,
Marah, Melothria, Momordica, Sicyos
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Genera native,naturalized to Montana:
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Bryonia, Echinocystis
Bryonia alba
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Native to Europe into northern Iran – introduced weed in Montana
Bryonia alba
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Echinocystis lobata
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Wild Cucumber/ Native Montanan
Echinocystis lobata
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Cucurbitaceae
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Cucurbita – pumpkins, winter and summer
squashes, gourds
Cucumis – cantaloupe, muskmelon,
honeydew melon, cucumber
Citrullus – watermelon
Lagenaria – bottle gourd
Brassicaceae
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Brassicaceae or Cruciferae, also known as
the crucifers, the mustard family or
cabbage family is a family of flowering plants
(Angiospermae). The name Brassicaceae is
derived from the included genus Brassica.
Cruciferae is an older name, it means "crossbearing", because the four petals of their flowers
are reminiscent of a cross or crucifix. According
to ICBN Art. 18.5 (Vienna Code) both Cruciferae
and Brassicaceae are regarded as validly
published, and are thus accepted as names for
the family.
Brassicaceae
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It contains over 330 genera and about 3,700
species, according to the Royal Botanic Gardens,
Kew. The largest genera are Draba (365
species), Cardamine (200 species, but its
definition is controversial), Erysimum (225
species), Lepidium (230 species) and Alyssum
(195 species.)
Our text says 356 genera and 4130 species.
Brassicaceae
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The family is included in Brassicales, according
to the APG system. Older systems placed them
into the Capparales, a now defunct order which
had a similar definition.
The family contains well-known species such as
Brassica oleracea (cabbage, cauliflower...),
Brassica rapa (turnip, Chinese cabbage...),
Brassica napus (rapeseed...), Raphanus sativus
(common radish), Armoracia rusticana
(horseradish), Matthiola (stock), and many
others.
Brassicaceae
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The family is cosmopolitan, but is concentrated
in the northern temperate regions and reaches
maximal diversity around the Mediterranean
area. There are also many in our region of
western North America.
A close relationship has long been acknowledged
between Brassicaceae and the caper family,
Capparaceae, in part because members of both
groups produce glucosinolate (mustard oil)
compounds.
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Capers are the pickled
flower buds of
Capparis spinosa, a
small, prickly
Mediterranean shrub.
Our text says this
plant is now in the
Family Brassicaceae,
order Brassicales.
Brassicaceae
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Genera native or naturalized in Montana:
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See Dorn 1984 for large listing.
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The family consists only of herbaceous
plants with annual, biennial or perennial
lifespans.
Brassicaceae
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The leaves are alternate (rarely opposite), sometimes
organized in basal rosettes. They are very often
pinnately incised and do not have stipules.
The structure of the flowers is extremely uniform
throughout the family. They have four free saccate
sepals and four clawed free petals, staggered. They can
be disymmetric or slightly zygomorphic, with a typical
cross-like arrangement (hence the name 'Cruciferae').
They have six stamens, four of which are longer (as long
as the petals, so relatively short in fact) and are
arranged in a cross like the petals and the other two are
shorter (tetradynamous flower). The pistil is made up
of two fused carpels and the style is very short, with two
lobes. Superior ovary. The flowers form ebracteate
racemose inflorescences, often apically corymb-like.
Brassicaceae
Iberis umbellata
Family: Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae
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The fruit is a peculiar kind of capsule named a silique
(plural siliques). It opens by two valves, which are the
modified carpels, leaving the seeds attached to a
framework made up of the placenta and tissue from the
junction between the valves (replum). There is often an
indehiscent beak at the top of the style and one or more
seeds may be borne there. Where a siliqua is less than
three times as long as it is broad , it is usually termed a
silicula.
The silique may break apart at constrictions occurring
between the segments of the seeds, thus forming a sort
of loment (e.g. radish), it may eject the seeds
explosively (e.g. Cardamine) or may be evolved in a sort
of samara (e.g. Isatis).
Unsurprisingly the fruit is often the most
important diagnostic character for plants in this
family.
Lunaria annua
Family: Brassicaceae
Aka Money Plant
Brassicaceae
Asteraceae
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(formerly COMPOSITAE) - The Daisy Family
This is one of the largest plant families, with
over 25,000 species distributed all over the
world. It includes shrubs, perennials and
annuals, but not trees or aquatics. Many of them
are weeds (e.g. Dandelion and Thistle), many
are familiar garden flowers (Aster,
Chrysanthemum and Echinacea), and some are
edible (Lettuce and Artichoke).
Asteraceae
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Characteristics of this Plant Family:
Leaves, Stem & Roots ~ The leaves of this
family are often undivided and spoon-shaped,
but they are sometimes toothed or divided, and
they may be prickly. There is often a basal
rosette, as in the Daisy or Dandelion, and there
may be leaves on the stem, as in the thistle. The
stem itself may be solid or hollow and it, too,
may be prickly. The roots may be short and near
the surface, as in the Daisy, or there may be a
long tap root, as in the Dandelion or Thistle.
Asteraceae
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Flowers - It is the flowers which give this plant family
its original name of Compositae They are composite, or
made up of many individual flowers. These flowers may
be regular (disc florets), with all the petals the same
size, or irregular (ray florets), with some petals larger
than others. Often, the disc florets form the central disc
of short flowers, and the irregular ray florets form the
outside 'petals' with the larger edge on the outside of
the flower head. In a sunflower for example, the dark
center of the flower is the disc florets and the outer
'petals' are the ray florets. Some members of this family
are made up of only disc florets or only ray florets.
Asteraceae
Asteraceae
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Seeds - Each single flower can produce a seed. The
flowers sit on a disc surrounded by the bracts. After
pollination, the seeds grow and mature until they are
ripe and ready to be dispersed. In some species, the
bracts surrounding the flower simply open and allow the
seeds to be dispersed by the wind. In this case, the seed
is often attached to its own 'parachute', as in the
Dandelion. In other species, the bracts close over the
disc while the seeds mature, and this seed case also
turns brown as the seeds ripen. When the seeds are
ready to be dispersed, they separate from the disc.
Seeds of this family are oval and may be flat or rounded.
They can be straw-colored, warm brown or nearly black.
Asteraceae
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As the flowers of this Family are composite, that is,
composed of a number of individual florets, the
seedhead is made up of the seeds of all the individual
flowers. Each flower produces one seed, formed from an
inferior ovary, and is called a cypsela. Often, there are
fine hairs attached which help it to be dispersed, or it
may have scales or bristles.
The individual seeds may be rounded or curved, but they
are very often almost flat. The genus Dimorphotheca
was named because it produces two different types of
seeds - thin, stick-like seeds from the outer florets, and
flat, disc-like seeds from the inner florets.
It is worth noting that often not all the florets in each
flowerhead (capitulum) form seeds although they may
produce the fluffy hairs.
Asteraceae
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Many members of this plant family do not produce viable
seeds. Often, they produce what looks like a fine
seedhead of white fluff, but on examination it will be
seen that there is no seed at the bottom of the
'parachute'. In some cases, there may be a seed case
full of ripe brown 'seeds', but they may be flat or bent
and spindly, and if they are compared to a healthy seed,
it can be seen that they are not viable seeds. Healthy
seeds are easily recognizable - there is a slight bulge to
even the flat-looking viable seeds, and some are fat and
rounded.
Asteraceae
Cypsela on a dandelion
Asteraceae
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Members of this Family usually have daisy-type
flowers and are herbs, shrubs, or small trees;
not aquatic.
The family Asteraceae is the largest family of
flowering plants (Angiospermae), in terms of
number of species.
Asteraceae are cosmopolitan, but most common
in the temperate regions and tropical mountains.
Asteraceae
Asteraceae
Asteraceae
Achillea
Anaphalis
Asteraceae
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According to our text, the family
comprises 1535 genera and 23,000
species. The largest genera are Senecio
(1,250 species), Veronia (1,000 species),
Cousinia (650 species), and Centaurea
(600 species). The circumscription of the
genera is often problematic and some of
these have been frequently divided into
minor subgroups.
Asteraceae
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Genera in this family include:
Achillea, Anaphalis, Arctotis, Argyranthemum,
Arnica, Aster, Bellis, Bidens, Calendula, Carduus,
Centaurea, Cichorium, Cineraria, Coreopsis,
Cosmos, Cynara, Dahlia, Dimorphotheca,
Doronicum, Echinops, Emilia, Erigeron, Gazania,
Gerbera, Gynura, Helenium, Helianthus,
Helichrysum, Inula, Leontopodium, Liatris,
Ligularia, Mutisia, Osteospermum, Raoulia,
Rudbeckia, Santolina, Senecio, Solidago,
Stokesia, Tagetes, Taraxacum, Ursinia, Zinnia.
Asteraceae
Antennaria rosea
Artemisia cana
Asteraceae
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In Montana, there are many genera and
species:
See Dorn 1984 for complete listing.
Asteraceae
Arnica longifolia
Aster conspicuus
Asteraceae
Balsamorhiza sagittata
Centaurea cyanus
Asteraceae
Centaurea maculosa
Centaurea montana
Asteraceae
Circium arvense
Introduced Noxious Weed
Circium undulatum
Native
Asteraceae
Erigeron linearis
Grindelia squarrosa
Asteraceae
Helianthus annuus
Liatris punctata
??? From Sara
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pe·rig·y·nous (p -r j -n s) adj.
Having sepals, petals, and stamens around the
edge of a cuplike receptacle containing the
ovary, as in flowers of the rose or cherry.
A half-inferior ovary (also known as “halfsuperior”, “subinferior,” or “partially inferior,”) is
embedded or surrounded by the receptacle.
Such flowers are termed perigynous or halfepigynous. In some classifications, half-inferior
ovaries are not recognized and are instead
grouped with either the superior or inferior
ovaries.
??? From Justin
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The word arvense comes from the Latin word
arvum which means “field.” Thus, Convolvulus
arvensis, aka Field Bindweed.
Picea mariana (Black Spruce) is a species of
spruce native to northern North America, from
Newfoundland west to Alaska, and south to
northern New York, Minnesota and central
British Columbia. This area is also known as the
taiga forest. This species is not native to
Montana.
??? From Dwayne
Three-needled Pine
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A check of my records revealed a
purchase of this tree from a nursery in
Wisconsin in 2002. I had overlooked the
purchase. It is Pinus bungeana aka
Lacebark Pine. Native to China, it was
introduced into horticultural cultivation in
1846. It was first observed by a Dr.
Bunge near Beijing in 1831, cultivated in a
temple garden.