|
 December
2002
 Pedicularis
kanei ssp kanei
November
2002
Crocus
tournefortii
October
2002
Cyclamen
mirabile
September
2002
Sternbergia
sicula
Colchicum
byzantinum album
August
2002
Gentiana
septemfida
July
2002
Oxytropis
shokanbetsuensis
June
2002
Silene
caroliniana
May
2002
Jeffersonia
dubia
April
2002
Tulipa
vvedenskyi
March
2002
Draba
aizoides
 February
2002
Diapensia
lapponica
January
2002
Chamaecyparis
obtusa 'Nana'
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2000
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1999
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1998
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1997
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Plant
of the Month
February
2002
Diapensia
lapponica
by Iza Goroff
Diapensia
lapponica is the type genus and species for the
family Diapensiaceae, a family which also includes the
genera Shortia, Galax, Schizocodon, Pyxidanthera, and
Berneuxia. All members of the family are choice and rare and
limited in distribution with the exception of
Diapensia lapponica.
Diapensia lapponica is
circumboreal in extent, found in the mountains of Scotland,
arctic northern Eurasia, high mountains of New England, much
of arctic Canada, and Alaska where this picture was taken.
There are two subspecies of Diapensia
lapponica; the Alaskan and Japanese plants belong to
subspecies obovata,
distinguished by broader leaves from those of the eastern
North American and western European plants.
Diapensia
lapponica is a plant of cold, windy, rocky tundra. It
does not like snow cover, surviving cold winds without
cover. People studying the plant in its arctic environment
have discovered that it traps heat; temperatures of the soil
beneath the plant are several degrees above that of its
surroundings. It is found primarily on acid (silicaceous)
rocks, rooted in depressions or crevices on stable
surfaces.
I am
unaware of any long term successes in the cultivation of
Diapensia lapponica. Likely
minimal requirements for its cultivation include crevice
planting using silicaceous rocks, refrigeration of its
environment, vigorous air circulation, and a soil poor in
nutrients. Those living in Alaska, Scotland, and Norway, or
at higher altitudes in the northern USA and southern Canada
might succeed using north facing slope locations.
Propagation from seeds is most likely to work.
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