Blech — had to ‘flash’ in the greenhouse

It was late in the day and the greenhouse may have been closed-and-locked-up for the weekend. But it was still open and Rich was there and I hadn't seen him for a couple months, so we chatted for quite a few minutes before I set off purposefully with camera.

Because it was a cloudy afternoon, he had lots of lamps blazing for the more tropical plants that need more light than this latitude provides at this time of year. My camera's white balance offerings didn't give "true" renderings with "Tungsten light (Approx. 3200K)" or "White fluorescent light (Approx. 4000K)", so I tried the on-board flash. I don't like the sharp, directional shadows, but at least I captured what I found interesting about this plant's above-ground presence: the shape of its leaves.

So what's the plant?
“Ipomoea batatas,” better known by its common name, Sweet potato!

From Missouri Botanical Garden, http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a587 » “Native to tropical America, sweet potato or sweet potato vine is a tuberous rooted tender perennial that has been cultivated for its orange-fleshed edible tubers for over 2000 years. It was reportedly brought back to Europe from the New World by Columbus. Today, the sweet potato is a popular root vegetable that is grown in vegetable gardens and as a commercial food crop throughout the world. Although species plants and varieties grown as food crops have somewhat attractive green foliage, it is the more recently introduced purple-, chartreuse- and variegated-leaved cultivars that have transformed this vegetable into a popular ornamental foliage plant. If grown as a ground cover, plant stems typically mound to 9" tall but spread by trailing stems to 8-10' wide, rooting in the ground at the nodes as they go. Leaves of the ornamental varieties are heart-shaped to palmately-lobed (to 6" long) and come in bright green, dark purple, chartreuse and variegated (green with pink or white) colors. Although species plants produce pale pink to violet trumpet-shaped flowers, ornamental varieties usually do not flower. Tubers of the ornamental varieties are edible, but are not as tasty as those of the varieties specifically bred for food production.

“This is a tuberous plant that is not grown from seed. Purchase plants in spring and set out after last frost date. In fall before first frost, dig, dry and store tubers in a dry medium (vermiculite or peat) in a cool dry corner of the basement. When tubers sprout in spring, cut them into sections (at least one eye per section) and plant the sections outdoors after last frost date. Tubers can also be sunk ½ way into a large-mouthed glass jar of water in early spring to generate sprouts that can be removed and planted. Container plants and or rooted cuttings taken in late summer may be overwintered indoors in bright sunny locations. Best to rotate plantings to different locations of the garden from year to year to minimize possible fungal disease problems.”

Species page at PhytoImages, http://phytoimages.siu.edu/cgi-bin/dol/dol_terminal.pl?taxon_name=Ipomoea_batatas&rank=binomial

Photo taken at SIUC Plant Biology Greenhouse, http://www.plantbiology.siu.edu/facilities/plant-biology-facilities/greenhouse/index.php

1 year ago (“Hyacinth bean”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2014-12-11
2 years ago (“Leaving work…”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2013-12-11
3 years ago (“Optical distortions”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2012-12-11
4 years ago (“Rowing off into the sunset”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2011-12-11

[ IMG_7565S12x9Otm :: f/4 :: 1/60" :: ISO-1600 :: 60mm :: flash ]

[Jane Anderson]

Night photography can be so frustrating for just this reason--use the flash and lose any subtlety, or don't use it and it's too dull! I took some last night with the same choices to decide between.