Large Witch Alder, Watercolor by Rose Pellicano, US

Fothergilla major
Listing: Threatened, Tennessee, Georgia

The Plant’s Story

Fothergilla major is a rare shrub of the southern Appalachians, favoring well-drained acid soils in mountain woods. In the wild, although it has a pretty broad range, it is not common anywhere, being sparsely dispersed. Its bottlebrush-like flowers are composed of long yellow stamens with long filaments. Its fragrance and autumn color add to the visual interest of the spring flowers. Dr. Fothergill, physician, naturalist, and philanthropist, had a garden in Essex, England, in which he grew “a variety of most curious plants”, according to Linnaeus, who named this genus after him.

The Artist’s Story: Rose Pellicano

Although I had never seen Fothergilla major, in my research on endangered plants I found that a specimen grew at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I’ve been working with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for ten years, as one of the artists in its Florilegium project. Established in 2000, the Florilegium is a project to document Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s living collections through botanical art. Artists from around the country have contributed 175 artworks to the project.

More of the plant’s story and the artist’s story can be found in the exhibit catalog, available at the exhibition venues or online from the ASBA.

Links to other Florilegium projects: Chelsea Physic Garden, Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, Australia, Filoli, Woodside, CA and Highgrove Estate of HRH Prince of Wales

Ghost Orchid, Watercolor, Body Color on Vellum by Kelly Leahy Radding, US

Dendrophylax lindenii
Listing: Endangered, Preservation of Native Flora of Florida Act

The Plant's Story

The ghost orchid of the Everglades seems hidden from sight when not in flower. It has no leaves and uses its roots to collect both water and sunlight. Its white flowers appear to float in the air, hence its nickname. The ghost orchid’s range includes humid areas of Florida and Cuba. Found in secluded groves of deep swamps, it is pollinated by the giant sphinx moth. This dependence on a specific pollinator and the pollinator’s dependence on a specific orchid in turn, leads to increased susceptibility to habitat alterations. The deep swamps of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge shelter the gohost orchid. Management of the Refuge is focused on providing suitable panther habitat, and that means restoration of its functional ecosystem and its native plant communities. Also located in Florida, the American Orchid Society is the world’s largest organization devoted to the huge family of orchids, estimated to contain more than 30,000 species.

The Artist’s Story: Kelly Leahy Radding

I wanted to portray this plant as otherworldly, or ‘ghostly’. I started it with a graphite under-drawing from which I could then develop the roots growing out of the gray of the graphite into full watercolor. The white body color, layered with watercolor for the colored portions, had the necessary opacity to give the illusion of the flower appearing out of the calfskin vellum background. I wanted the flower to have an ethereal quality; to appear as if it materialized from the background like a ‘ghost’.

More of the plant’s story and the artist’s story can be found in the exhibit catalog, available at the exhibition venues or online from the ASBA.

Yellow Lady’s Slipper, Watercolor by Kathleen Garness, US

Cypripedium parviflorum
Listings: Large variety Endangered, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Washington; Small variety Endangered, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island

The Plant’s Story

There are about a dozen species of Cypripedium in North America between Mexico and the Arctic. They are all pollinated by luring insects into their “slipper” pouches. Several states offer blanket protection to all orchids, because, like ferns, they are often poached from the wild by gardeners and horticulturists. Conversion of natural areas into housing, agricultural and industrial developments, encroachment by brush and invasive species and changes in hydrology are all contributing to their diminishing numbers. In Illinois, the small yellow lady’s slipper has been tracked by the Department of Natural Resources since 1976, with the Chicago Botanic Garden’s rare plant monitoring program Plants of Concern following it from 2001 to the present.

The Artist’s Story: Kathleen Garness

Working in the field studying rare plants brings its own set of issues. Among them are a site’s fragility as well as its confidentiality, insects and wet conditions, bright sun and changing light. One must be very careful not to compact the soil or trample the plants and seedlings. Because of the length of time necessary to complete the painting, I worked from a variety of reference materials in addition to life drawings: herbarium material from Morton Arboretum and my own photographs of the species. Many hours were invested in preliminary studies, sending sketches to researchers for comments and approval before finalizing the painting.

More of the plant’s story and the artist’s story can be found in the exhibit catalog, available at the exhibition venues or online from the ASBA.

Pink Lady’s Slipper, Moccasin Flower, Watercolor by Catherine Kopper, US

Cypripedium acaule
Listings: Endangered, Illinois; Commercially Exploited, Endangered, Tennessee

The Plant’s Story

Cypripedium acaule, a large, showy wildflower, is one of the most recognizable wild orchids preferring haunts of acidic dry to wet forests, bogs, and wetland edges. Specific habitat requirements of Cypripedium acaule make it difficult to transplant probably due to its mutualistic relationship with specific mycorrhizal fungi in the soil; if those fungi are absent, the plant will decline then die. The fungi help the orchid take up nutrients from the soil and surrounding trees, and the orchid contributes carbon it photosynthesizes to the fungus. Once established in a place it likes, with a large root system, the moccasin flower can live for decades. The pink color and sweet scent of the lady’s slipper flower attract bees for pollination.

The Artist’s Story: Catherine Kopper

I have lived in Pembroke, Massachusetts since 1984 and each spring I have observed Cypripedium acaule, the pink lady’s slipper, blossom in a small wooded area behind my house. As soon as I saw the leaves I began to observe its progress and made some rough sketches. I also photographed the plants that I planned to paint. I prefer to work from the specimen so during a few days of good weather I sat outside and worked on my composition. I then returned to my studio to make a final drawing that I transferred to my watercolor paper.

More of the plant’s story and the artist’s story are included in the exhibit catalog, available at the exhibition venues or online from the ASBA.

Santa Cruz Cypress, Watercolor & Colored Pencil by Maria Cecilia Freeman, US

Cupressus abramsiana
Listings: Endangered, Federal Endangered Species Act; Endangered, California

The Plant’s Story

The endangered Santa Cruz Cypress, Cupressus abramsiana, is found only in the coastal Santa Cruz Mountains of central California, where it grows in gravelly, sandy soils above the fog belt, with chaparral and other evergreen species. This tree, once abundant, succumbed over the years to vineyard and home development, and road building. Only five populations totaling a few thousand individuals remain, all within a 15-mile stretch of the coast. It was Federally listed in 1987. It is still threatened by competition with non-native plants such as pampas grass and French broom, insect infestation and hybridization with other cypress species.

The Artist’s Story: Maria Cecilia Freeman

I live ten minutes from two of the remaining populations of Cupressus abramsiana. When I set out to study the cypress, I contacted our local chapter of the California Native Plant Society. Its Conservation Committee Chair and Coordinator of Research at the University of California Santa Cruz Arboretum helped me distinguish this cypress from other more common species, showed me specimen plants at the Arboretum, and allowed me to take home cuttings with cones to study and draw in detail. I visited the trees repeatedly to study their branching habit, bark, leaves and cones as the seasons changed.

More of the plant’s story and the artist’s story can be found in the exhibit catalog, available at the exhibition venues or online from the ASBA.

Pima Pineapple Cactus, Pen and Ink by Joan McGann, US

Coryphantha robustispina
Listings: Endangered, Federal Endangered Species Act; CITES Appendix II; Highly Safeguarded, Arizona

The Plant’s Story

The small range of this cactus (350 square miles) encompasses desert grasslands between 2300’ and 5000’ in Sonora, Mexico and in Pima and Santa Cruz Counties in Arizona. Even in these regions, they are very sparsely distributed. Urban development is the primary threat to this cactus. Since its listing as endangered in 1993, several residential and retail developments have been constructed where Pima pineapple cactus made its home. Residential and retail developments affect more land than the actual footprint of the homes and yards; drainage effects can be substantial. The increasing human presence causes ancillary effects such as hiking, biking, ATV use, and pet incursions as well as introduction of non-native plant species. The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson have been actively involved in the conservation of this species. ASDM has recently been engaged by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct the Pima pineapple cactus’s monitoring on an ongoing basis on lands set aside specifically for its habitat.

The Artist’s Story: Joan McGann

The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and the Desert Museum Art Institute in Tucson are unique in that they are a botanical garden, a zoo, a natural history museum and research facility as well as a center for natural history art. Museum staff made their live collections of rare plant species available to me. I was allowed to sketch in the plant nursery and photograph the plant on several different occasions. They kept me apprised of the budding and blooming activity so that the flower could be studied, sketched and photographed.

More of the plant’s story and the artist’s story can be found in the exhibit catalog, available at the exhibition venues or online from the ASBA.

Pitcher’s Thistle, Pen and Ink by Derek Norman, US

Cirsium pitcheri
Listings: Threatened, Federal Endangered Species Act; Endangered, Canada (SARA)

The Plant’s Story

Pitcher’s thistle, Cirsium pitcheri, is one of many rare or declining species inhabiting dunes of the western Great lakes region. Fine wooly hairs on its stems and leaves are an adaptation to its beach environment so that it can retain water and reflect the sun. Many thistles are considered invasive. However, Pitcher’s thistle’s adaptation to its specific environment means it does not diverge from its favored locales. Pitcher’s thistle is vulnerable to habitat loss by shoreline development, dune stabilization projects, trampling by ATVs and foot traffic. Scientists have learned that isolated colonies of plants, like animals, can become increasingly genetically narrow in a process called genetic drift, further weakening their ability to remain robust and reproduce.

The Artist’s Story: Derek Norman

After spending approximately five years in search of a specimen, finally, with the help and assistance of Marlin Bowles, Plant Conservation Biologist, Morton Arboretum, and Dr. Tim Bell, Chicago State University, I was able to find a suitable plant. In the early summer of 2007 a highly detailed pencil drawing was completed over two sweltering, hot humid days in the company of biting flies, a colony of ants and the occasional attacking red-winged blackbird. I then began to render the drawing in ink, first establishing the outline, then slowly inking in and adding the detail with a “stipple” pen technique.

More of the plant’s story and the artist’s story can be found in the exhibit catalog, available at the exhibition venues or online from the ASBA.

Cyperus-like Sedge, Watercolor by Betsy Rogers-Knox US

Carex pseudocyperus
Listing: Endangered, Connecticut, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania

The Plant’s Story

Carex species can be found almost everywhere in the world, with nearly 500 species in North America. Carex pseudocyperus inhabits a large portion of northeastern North America, preferring moist to wet habitats. It is endangered all along the southern end of its range. Carex are very important, serving to hold water, stabilize soils and prevent erosion. Although many Carex thrive in naturally occurring wetlands they are reluctant to independently recolonize restored wetlands. This makes the restored wetlands more vulnerable to take-over by alien vegetation. Thriving wetlands are hubs of activity, alive with insects and amphibians. The most recent National Wetlands Inventory (1997/2004) which utilized aerial and satellite imagery, revealed that nearly 60% of losses in all categories of wetland were due to urban and rural development. A collected specimen has been pressed, mounted and incorporated into the University of Connecticut Biological Research Collection in Storrs.

The Artist’s Story: Betsy Rogers-Knox

In my endeavor to locate and illustrate a threatened or endangered plant, it took numerous emails and phone calls for me to find an enthusiastic supporter, the Research Director at the White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield, Connecticut. From a nearby boardwalk over the wetland I spent many hours during the summer of 2007 observing and illustrating this infrequently found plant and its habitat. Participating in my own small way to a project devoted to raising awareness about endangered plant species has been especially meaningful to me.

More of the plant’s story and the artist’s story can be found in the exhibit catalog, available at the exhibition venues or online from the ASBA.

Magenta Lilly Pilly, Watercolor by Deirdre Bean, Australia

Syzygium paniculatum
Listing:Vulnerable, Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act

The Plant's Story

Australia is home to about 60 species of Syzygium.  They are all valuable trees and shrubs in Australia's tropical and subtropical rainforests, partly because they are a major food source for nectar-feeding and fruit-eating animals.

According to the New South Wales Parks and Wildlife Service, in the wild, magenta lilly pilly "occupies a narrow, linear coastal distribution in specific, restricted habitat types that have been extensively cleared and/or modified." These areas of coastal thickets and rainforest of eastern Australia have been listed as a critically endangered ecological community.

Three Syzygium species are listed as Vulnerable in this endangered habitat. They all serve as food for the protected grey-headed flying fox (a fruit bat). This bat is critical for dispersing seed from its food sources, spreading progeny of the trees whose fruit it eats.

The Artist's Story: Deirdre Bean

Syzygium paniculatum is native to my local area, and I have a mature tree growing in full view of my front door. Our neighbors say it has been fully grown since they moved in approximately 50 years ago. I painted a series of eight Syzygiums for an exhibition before the Royal Horticultural Society in the UK.

More of the plant’s story and the artist’s story can be found in the exhibit catalog, available at the exhibition venues or online from the ASBA.

Dwarf Bearclaw Poppy, Watercolor by Lara Call Gastinger, US

Arctomecon humilis
Listing: Endangered, Federal Endangered Species Act

The Plant’s Story

Utah’s dwarf bearclaw poppy is one of the world’s rarest. It is found only in about a ten mile radius near St. George, a rapidly growing city. Since its listing in 1979, it has further declined, facing pressures from housing expansion, airport construction, and non-compatible usage of habitat by off-road vehicles. Some poppy colonies occur on Bureau of Land Management property, the largest manager of Federal lands in the US. Other poppy habitat is owned by the State of Utah or The Nature Conservancy. Enthusiasts and scientists from conservation organizations, universities, and the Utah Native Plant Society have monitored and studied dwarf bearclaw poppy and other wildflower populations for many years. Red Butte Garden, University of Utah has been banking seeds for several years, but so far the plant has proven difficult to grow in captivity.

The Artist’s Story: Lara Call Gastinger

In the summer of 1999, I lived in Logan, Utah and helped develop a webpage for the Floristics Lab at Utah State University. There I learned about the endemic plants of Utah and became interested in documenting rare botanical species. I contacted my mentor from Utah State, a botanist who works on the Flora of North America Project. I wanted her input about rare and endangered plant species to paint for this exhibit. She immediately mentioned the bearclaw poppy.

Other links: Utah Rare Plant Guide, Center for Plant Conservation, Zipcode Zoo

More of the plant’s story and the artist’s story can be found in the exhibit catalog, available at the exhibition venues or online from the ASBA.

Losing Paradise?

Losing Paradise? Endangered Plants Here and Around the World is a project of The American Society of Botanical Artists. At the convergence of art, science, conservation, and education, the exhibit includes 44 works of botanical art portraying endangered plants in a variety of media.

Having concluded its exhibitions at the Chicago Botanic Garden April 4th and at the Missouri Botanical Garden last fall, the exhibit will open at the New York Botanical Garden in May before travelling on to the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution later this year.

The catalog which accompanies the exhibition was edited by Carol Woodin, Exhibitions Coordinator for the ASBA.  The catalog includes the story of the plight of each specimen and how the artists came to depict them along with essays by some of the world's foremost scientists and conservation leaders; Peter H. Raven, President of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Professor Sir Peter Crane FRS of the University of Chicago, Dr. Kathryn Kennedy, President and Executive Director of the Center for Plant Conservation, Gary Krupnick, Ph.D., Head of the Plant Conservaton Unit, Department of Botany, at the Smithsonian Institution, and James S. Miller, Dean and Vice President for Science at the New York Botanical Garden. The catalog is available for sale at the exhibition venues or online from the American Society of Botanical Artists.