Talk:Cushion plant

Bolster heath

Well, look at that! All this time I hadn't known about this alternate name. Question is, do we continue here or merge that info in? --Rkitko ^(talk) 15:34, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

I've never heard of it. but it sounds like it is describing the vegetative community, chaparral, rain forest, scrubland, not the plant habit. If this is the case, it should be in the see also section or discussed within the article. Confirm with the Aussies, they're rampant in plants on Wikipedia and will know which way to go. --Blechnic (talk) 19:39, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

I think you may be right, but perhaps we should alter the language in bolster heath to be more specific about what it's describing then. And just to be on the safe side, I asked User:Hesperian if the two terms are relatively synonymous. Plans are to work on this a bit more tomorrow. Went (1971) has a good bit more information that I can tease out. To go along with this article, did we also want to consider a separate List of cushion plants? Or include it in this article? --Rkitko ^(talk) 05:24, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

That depends on how long the list is likely to be. If it's a shorter list, then it would make more sense to just include it here. If the list is likely to be long, then a separate article seems more appropriate. How many kinds of cushion plants are there? --EncycloPetey (talk) 06:52, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

(unindent)Well, there's the list of 20 species from Tasmania at bolster heath. Went (1971) mentions the following from Patagonia:

1. Abrotanella spp. - all species in the genus.
2. Astelia pumila - two other species in the genus are cushion plants
3. Azorella lycopodioides - All species in this genus and a few other related ones in the Apiaceae.
4. Caltha dionaeifolia
5. Colobanthus spp. - Entire genus.
6. Donatia magellanica (now Donatia fascicularis
7. Drapetes muscoides - All 5 species in the genus.
8. Gaimardia australis - "All perennial Centrolepidaceae are cushion plants."
9. Oreobolus - entire genus.
10. Phyllachne uliginosa
11. Plantago barbata - "There are several other cushion plants in this genus, but all belong to the same section of the genus (Plantaginella) and all are restricted to the Southern hemisphere."
12. Tapeinia magellanica
13. Valeriana sedifolia - A few species in the genus.
14. Drosera uniflora is densely tufted and may be considered a cushion plant.

Then of course there are the arctic species...

1. Silene acaulis
2. Saxifraga caespitosa
3. Diapensia lapponica
4. Saxifraga tricuspidata
5. Dryas integrifolia

Some of those can be repeats from the list of Tasmanian cushion plants (from here), but that's still plenty. Is that long enough? Or would a table in the article be best? --Rkitko ^(talk) 13:11, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

And I can provide additional species from a book about alpine plants in New Zealand. (A "?" indicates that I am going by the photo rather than an explicit identification of "cushion p[lant" in the limited text, and will need additional checking) This is not a complete list:

1. Donatia novae-zelandiae
2. Haastia pulvinaris
3. Haastia sinclairii
4. Kelleria sp. (an unnamed species, formerly Drapetes)
5. Parahebe cheesemanii
6. Phyllachne colensoi
7. Raoulia eximia
8. Euphrasia laingii ?
9. Euphrasia zelandica ?
10. Oreoporanthera alpina ?
11. Pittosporum anomalum ?

Perhaps we should just start the lost here, but with the option of moving it later if it grows too large. How should we organize the list? By famliy? By alpine/artic/etc? Alphabetically? Note: if we use the recommended sortable tables, then we can allow users to sort the information for their own needs... provided that the kind of information we want to include in such a table can be meaningfully sorted. --EncycloPetey (talk) 16:37, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

I'd tend to do a primary sort by region, and then list by family. There seems to be enough species listed here so far to create a list as a separate article from the outset. Here are some that I have come across that are referred to as "cushion plants" in various references:

Tasmania

• Abrotanella forsteroides
• Chionohebe ciliolata
• Colobanthus affinis
• Colobanthus apetalus
• Colobanthus curtisiae
• Colobanthus pulvinatus
• Donatia novae-zelandiae (+NZ)
• Ewartia meredithiae
• Dracophllum minimum
• Phyllachyne colensoi (+NZ)
• Pimelea pygmaea
• Pterygopappus lawrencei
• Scleranthus biflorus
• Schizacme archeri

Mainland Australia

• Ewartia nubigena
• Scleranthus biflorus
• Stackhousia pulverinus

Heard Island

• Azorella selago

Macquarie Island

• Azorella macquariensis --Melburnian (talk) 06:40, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

According to a source I have, there are "338 species around the world, belonging to 78 genera and 34 plant families." The reference given in Badano et al. (2006) for this fact is:

• Hauri, H. and Schröter, C. 1914. Versuch einer uebersicht der siphonogamen polsterpflanzen. � Engler’s Bot. Jahrb. 50: 618-656.

I'll check tomorrow to see if I have access to it so we can build a list. Taxonomy might be a bit out of date for several species since then, unless Badano et al. took the time to correct Hauri & Schröter's numbers based on current phylogenetics. Cheers, Rkitko ^(talk) 03:46, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Nevermind; checked tonight: [1] (extremely large pdf) It's slow, but I love botanicus.org. --Rkitko ^(talk) 04:05, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Oops, that was the supplemental to vol. 50. I found a faster service that had the images and combined them into a pdf, which I decided to host on my website: [2]. I don't want to clutter up the talk page here, so I decided to start compiling and correcting the list of species at Talk:Cushion plant/List. --Rkitko ^(talk) 23:09, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Construction

What would be the best way to organize our information? Sections relating to description, ecology, evolution, and diversity might work. Any other suggestions or modifications to that list? I've got some more to add on ecology. Some of these species are quite important in their habitats, as you mentioned in Azorella selago. A couple of the articles I have mention their importance in creating microclimates beneath the leaves that insects can utilize as shelter. Also I found a couple JSTOR articles that describe the frost tolerance in detail of certain species, noting that some maintain an temperature 10 °C above ambient temperatures below the cushion. --Rkitko ^(talk) 16:34, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

I might put evolution last in this case, as it's a specialized topic for these plants, although it fills part in all of the other areas. A section on communities, on seasonal life cycles, how the plants flower and prepare to grow, the longevity, any differences alpine versus arctic. I know some about the Antarctic communities, but these plants are not my area (few in the West African tropics, but I'll look up their viral pathogens).

This article looks great. --Blechnic (talk) 19:59, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

How much can we say about evolution here? Granted, this is an excellent example of convergent evolution, but that is a result of common ecological selective pressures, so this information is promarily ecological. Is there enough information about evolution of cushion plants to warrant its own independent section? I don't think so, but someone else may be more creative than I am. Otherwise, I suggest including any evolution information under diversity (noting the independent origin of this growth form) and under ecology (noting the selective pressures). --EncycloPetey (talk) 20:07, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Indeed, you're right. And because it's a shared trait across many genera and families and across geographical boundaries, the evolution would be difficult to describe without describing each species in turn. Writing more broadly in other sections as you outlined seems best. Specific adaptations of the growth form could also be included in the general description. --Rkitko ^(talk) 05:24, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

DYK

Note, this would make a nice article to nominate for WP:DYK, except that there aren't any "catchy" cited facts in the article yet. DYK has a 5-day window for nominating new articles, so if someone can find a nice fact and citation in the next four days, the article could be nominated and possibly featured on the Main Page. --EncycloPetey (talk) 20:07, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

How about the fact that some of them start flowering and growing under the snow before it melts, and have to do this in order to complete their life cycle in the short season? I'd have to look this up to find out the exact information, but I've heard about it. --Blechnic (talk) 20:12, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

That sounds like a good "hook". If you can add suitable text and a citation, that would be great!

Once that's done, would you like to self-nominate this article for DYK, or would you prefer to have someone else nominate it for you? --EncycloPetey (talk) 20:17, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Let me find the information, and someone else can do the nomination, if you don't mind. --Blechnic (talk) 20:24, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

I also think it's pretty neat that they can maintain temperatures 10 degrees C warmer below the cushion than ambient air temperature above. Ref for that would be [3] and subsequently Wilson, J. Warren. (1957). Observations on the temperatures of arctic plants and their environment. Journal of Ecology, 45(2): 499-531. Also, their longevity: estimated age of the largest specimens of Silene acaulis around 300 years. (Ref: # Morris, W. F. and Doak, D. F. (1998). Life history of the long-lived gynodioecious cushion plant Silene acaulis (Caryophyllaceae), inferred from size-based population projection matrices. American Journal of Botany, 85(6): 784-793. --Rkitko ^(talk) 05:24, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

We'll use that if I can't find the thing about the pre-snow melt growth. I think it was about the buckwheats. I can't find it on-line, and I've looking through some of my arctic/antarctic texts, but have only been distracted into the many articles Wikipedia doesn't have on arctic and subarctic plants, and how little I know about them. --Blechnic (talk) 05:50, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

I can't find anything and won't have any more time. I would like to see this little article get a DYK on the front page, particularly a non-plagiarized one. It's well written, still needs work. Can someone do this? --Blechnic (talk) 08:44, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

I added the content and refs I mentioned earlier. Did we want to go with one of those for DYK? --Rkitko ^(talk) 03:46, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

I think the time requirements are real short, so, yes, just pick the most interesting fact, and put it up to see if it gets a DYK? I'm not sure how to do it. And don't have time. --Blechnic (talk) 07:36, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

It's on the list of DYK nominations. User:Hassocks5489 nominated it. :-) --Rkitko ^(talk) 11:49, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. --Blechnic (talk) 23:38, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

(←)Didn't notice this until now! :) I'm pleased to say the article received approximately 14,100 views during its main-page stay (which spanned 25 and 26 June), and the moss campion pic got 15,200. Hassocks5489 (tickets please!) 14:35, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

German page

There is a short article about this in the German version of Wikipedia. Does anyone know how to create the link? http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/PolsterpflanzeUmg (talk) 10:34, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

Done! Thanks for the heads up on that. --Rkitko ^(talk) 11:55, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

Reference to be used in the future

If anyone wants to dive into this great recent article on Australian cushion plants, go ahead. I'll probably get to it in a few weeks, if no one else does: http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/103118/Cun112177Par.pdf --Rkitko ^(talk) 00:39, 6 February 2010 (UTC)