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Art
The
of
Plant Evolution
W. John Kress and Shirley Sherwood
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I. Fungi
Although fungi have traditionally been considered plants and within the field of
botany, scientists now agree that these organisms are not plants at all. Lacking the
ability to photosynthesize and possessing a distinctive type of cell wall, they are
most closely related to animals. Fungi have been put at the base of the Tree of
Plant Evolution as a reminder that fungi are not plants and share more features
with animals than they do with plants. However, fungi in the form of mycorrhizae
have an exceedingly important symbiotic association in mineral nutrition with the
roots of many plant species, especially trees.
I. Fungi – Amanitaceae
1. Amanita muscaria
Alexander Viazmensky, b. Leningrad (St Petersburg), Russia 1946
Watercolour on paper, 380 mm x 280 mm
Signed with hieroglyphic AV in old Russian
Alexander Viazmensky paints both fungi and landscapes. Each summer he ventures
deep into the woods near St. Petersburg for his specimens, visiting secret spots for
his trophies. Since 1997 his lively style has become more detailed and clearly
outlined, although he retains his customary clutter of leaves, pine needles and
strands of grass which discreetly indicate where he found the toadstool.
Alexander’s work is held at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Lindley Library
and he produces excellent prints of his work which can be seen in the Grand
Hotel Europe, St Petersburg. He taught at the Minnesota School of Botanical Art
Master Classes in 2004 and 2006 and had illustrations in the Red Data Book of
Nature of St Petersburg. He had a solo show in 2007 as part of the XV Congress of
European Mycologists and taught an enthusiastic class at the American Society of
Botanical Art in 2008.
This previously unpublished portrait of Amanita muscaria was executed in
2003.The classic toadstool or ‘magic mushroom’ has hallucinogenic properties
and is widely pictured in folklore.
Amanita has over 400 described species worldwide and is one of the largest genera of
basidiomycetes. The fruiting bodies of the species Amanita muscaria are found in
summer and autumn in coniferous and deciduous forests from lowland elevations up to
the subalpine zone in both temperate and subtropical regions. The Latin musca means fly
and was applied to this species because of the mushroom’s ability to attract and in some
cases poison these insects. The same compounds that poison flies are also toxic to
humans and the mushrooms have been used as inebriants and as hallucinogens by
indigenous peoples in different parts of the world. Based on DNA sequence data
generated from specimens collected in different regions of the northern hemisphere
scientists have found distinct geographic races that correspond to Eurasia, to Eurasian
subalpine zones, and to North America. This type of regional differentiation is not
unexpected in such a widespread species.
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V. Gymnosperms
The evolution of seeds (made up of the young embryo, some nutritive tissue, and
an outer protective covering) was an important step in the proliferation of plants
on land. Gymnosperm, like bryophyte, is a term that comprises a number of
different groups of plants that are related by the possession of seeds, but do not
form a monophyletic evolutionarily coherent lineage. In gymnosperms the seeds
are ‘naked’ and not enclosed within a fruit wall.The living gymnospermous
groups include conifers, ginkgos, and cycads, all of which, like the monilophytes,
have a well-developed vascular system. Botanists do not agree on the
evolutionary relationships of the various groups of gymnosperms, or on which
group is most closely related to the flowering plants. Perhaps some missing links
between the gymnosperms and the angiosperms became extinct long ago.
A
ID
ER
ST
S
Sapindales
Dipsacales
Horse Chestnuts
RO S
ID S
& Maples
Malvales (99-101)
Hibiscus & Kapok
Brassicales
(97-98)
Mustard & Gabbage
(95-96)
Honeysuckles
& Viburnums
(136)
Asterales
Dandelions
& Campanulas
(131-135)
Fagales
Oaks & Walnuts
(92-94)
Apiales
Carrots & Ivies
(129-130)
Aquifoliales
Holly (128)
Cucurbitales
Fabales
Squash & Begonias
(90-91)
Peas (88-89)
Rosales
Roses & Figs
(85-87)
Lamiales
Mints & African Violets
(118-127)
Solanales
Cornales
Oxalidales
Dogwoods
& Hydrangea
(102-103)
Wood Sorrel
(82-84)
Myrtales
Morning Glories
& Aubergine
(114-117)
Malpighiales
Pomegranates
& Fuchsia
(72-75)
Poinsettias & Violets
(76-81)
Vitaceae
Gentianales
Ericales
Gentians & Coffee
(112-113)
Primulas, Heaths
& Tea (104-111)
Grapes (71)
Geraniales
Geraniums (70)
COTS
NO
MO Commelinales
Zingiberales
Bananas & Cannas Poales
Grasses &
(46-50)
Pineapples
(38-41)
Day Flowers &
Kangaroo Paws
(43-45)
Saxifragales
Stonecrops & Paeonies
(66-69)
Caryophyllales
Pinks & Cacti (60-65)
Palms (42)
OT
S
Arecales
Santalales
Asparagales
Gunnerales
Iris & Orchids
(28-37)
Gunnera (57)
Liliales
Lilies (23-27)
Mistletoes (58-59)
Proteales
Lous & Banksias
(55-56)
Pandanales
Ranunculales
Screw Pines (22)
Clematis & Poppies
(51-54)
Dioscoreales
EAR
LY
DIV
E
G
RG I N
EU D
Nymphaeaceae
Water Lilies (13)
Alismatales
Yams (21)
Pondweeds & Aroids
(18-20)
Ginkgoales
Ginkgo (8)
Laurales
Amborellaceae
Laurals (17)
Coniferales
Pines (9-11)
Piperales
BAS
Black Pepper &
Aristolochias (14)
Cycadales
Cycads (6-7)
A
N G I O S P E R MS
PE
Magnoliales
Magnolias & Annonas
(15-16)
R MS
Amborella (12)
LA
IC
Mosses (3)
Monilophytes
GYM
NO
S
Ferns (4-5)
Algae (2)
Fungi (1)
Animals
Leslie Carol Berge
Cycad (female cones) – Encephalartos ferox
ALL OTHER LIFE
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VI. Angiosperms – Basal Angiosperms – Piperales
This order is made up of five (possibly six) families, including the Dutchman’s
pipes, black peppers, and lizard tails.The various members now grouped in the
Piperales have not always been considered as closely related, but DNA sequence
data provide strong evidence for placing them together as an evolutionary group.
Oil cells and two-ranked leaves are found in most of the species of this group.
Some species have stems swollen at the nodes where the leaves are attached as
well as flowers in whorls of three, which is similar to the monocots.
VI. Angiosperms – Basal Angiosperms – Piperales – Aristolochiaceae
14. Aristolochia gigantea
Rosália Demonte b. Niteroi, Brazil 1932
Gouache on vellum, 550 mm x 410 mm
Signed R Demonte
The Demonte family live in Petrópolis, the high altitude summer refuge in the
mountains behind Rio in the Atlantic Rainforest. Rosália and her sister Yvonne
shared a studio next to their house with Ludmyla, one of Rosália’s daughters.
Rosália’s brother Etienne Demonte lived nearby where he painted alongside his
two sons. None of them has had any extensive formal training and their styles of
painting are sometimes very similar. Rosália tended to concentrate on flowers
and butterflies, while her daughter paints dramatic pictures of the wild cats of
South America.
The extraordinary vine, Aristolochia gigantea, grows up a steep bank in
Rosalia’s garden.The specimen she painted for this dramatic picture, with its
huge striking maroon speckled flower (depicted life-size in the painting), was
given to her by Roberto Burle Marx, the famous landscape designer who
was such a great friend of Margaret Mee.
The family Aristolochiaceae contains 7 genera with 460 species, although botanists still
differ on the taxonomic boundaries within this family. The plants are generally
temperate herbs and tropical or subtropical lianas and shrubs. The aristolochias make up
one of the five groups of basal angiosperms in the order Piperales. The flower is
structured with the petals, sepals, stamens, and carpels in whorls of three, which
suggests that these plants are relatively primitive angiosperms. This led some botanists
to formerly believe that they were the closest relatives of the monocots, whose flowers
are also in whorls of three. The flowers of Aristolochia gigantean are enormous, foulsmelling, and characterised by deep maroon markings. These features serve to attract
carrion-loving flies which are deceived into visiting the flowers as a site to deposit their
eggs. The pollen-bearing flies become trapped in the inflated portion of the flower and
transfer pollen to the stigma before they are allowed to exit. The name of the genus is
derived from the Greek words ‘aristos’ meaning ‘the best or most excellent’ and
‘locheia’ meaning ‘childbirth’ in reference to the use of this plant in ancient herbal
medicine to assist in childbirth and abortion.
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