Scott Zona Gives Talk on Shingle-Leaf Plants - B.U.S.H. Club

[Palmarum]

Last Friday evening, those of us in B.U.S.H. Club were treated to an exceptional presentation by Palm great Scott Zona. He wasn't speaking on palms this evening however, his talk centered on the obscure group of vines known as Shingle-Leaf Climbers. These are those tropical plants that you'll notice growing up sheer surfaces with leaves that appear to be glued flat in place. I have seen these plants before in collections and most notably at the Rare Plant House at Fairchild Gardens. You will notice them growing right up the walls (and ceilings).

The presentation ran about forty minutes and was very informative. I wasn't able to record it, but I did take lots of notes and screenshots. There were dozens of great slides and I have but a few of them here to represent the fun we had learning about this peculiar group of plants...

 

- Scott Zona begins by introducing himself and the title screen of his presentation. The talk was scheduled early, but most of the gathering appeared at around 7:00pm, the usual start time. We had a full group arrive by the time we were a few slides in. (B) Scott gave a quick overview of the group known as shingle-leaf plants (not shingle plants, by the way, those are different) and mentioned how popular they have become as collectable house plants. Collectors have been showcasing their plants on social media; more so during the pandemic. Most Shingle-leaf plants are grown by cuttings, so they are easily traded.

- Diving into the world of these unusual plants was his hobby project during the pandemic. Scott mentioned how he noticed no one had gone through the process of examining these plants before as a group. He made it his quest to figure them out. (B) He went through all the known documentation he could find to classify the plants as a whole. I had thought most, if not all, of the species were in the Aroid (Araceae) family, but to my surprise there are more. Nine other families have Shingle-Leaf plants, including Orchids.

- Many slides began by introducing the attendees to the varied leaf shapes, sizes and forms. (B) Shingle-Leaf plants can be grouped by their growth habit, defined into three groups based on if the leaves remain the same, change shape over time or if they produce lateral horizontal growths when mature. (C) The majority of known species are Aroids, but many slides showcased the habit in other families, including Orchids; all of which were completely new to me.

- Further slides began to show actual examples of each growth habit. This species was another surprise.. notice the genus Psychotria, the Wild Coffee genus! This species is a shingle-leaf climber that often looks the same, like the photo on the left. But when the plant matures, it produces its flowers on horizontal growths, dramatically changing how the plant looks. (B) The talk began to shift to describe how these plants grow on their hosts, or phorophytes. The leaves seem to 'shield' or protect the roots, either by preventing water loss or perhaps protecting them from physical damage. The article on the left in German is one of the earliest descriptions of Shingle-leaf plants. (C) Halfway through the presentation, the discussion focused on 'Why' do these plants grow like this, what is/are the advantage(s).

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Since no one had previously done much work on these plants, the answers to 'why do they grow' like this are mostly unanswered. Slides continued to list the known functions of the Shingle-leaf plant habit; including how they capture water, collect carbon dioxide, how they 'may' be collecting decaying plant material from above in the forest canopy, and so on. (B) The last few slides discussed the different hypotheses on why this behavior exists. Scott mentioned that many of these hypotheses can be tested, but they require a lot of field work.

- Scott went ahead and combined all of his work on Shingle-leaf plants into an article. Might as well right? The presentation was great. It delved into a odd botanical corner of the plant world which is awesome in all respects. He closed out his presentation by offering a copy of his article to anyone who wanted it. We just needed to send him an email.

 

We closed out the meeting with a ton of questions and back and forth discussion. These plants will need a lot more study for sure. They will keep their mystery for the time being. Scott is a great speaker and has spoken at B.U.S.H Club and many other societies before.

For those who may wondering, B.U.S.H. Club stands for Better Understanding through Study of Horticulture. It is a garden club that goes way back... how far back I actually don't know, but it was one of the first plant societies I became involved with as a kid. It is one of the societies still functioning, barely, in Broward County. The have been doing their meetings online for most of the pandemic. The next two months are the usual off time for the society, but they plan to pick things up in September.

Ryan

--<

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Palmarum said:

- Since no one had previously done much work on these plants, the answers to 'why do they grow' like this are mostly unanswered. Slides continued to list the known functions of the Shingle-leaf plant habit; including how they capture water, collect carbon dioxide, how they 'may' be collecting decaying plant material from above in the forest canopy, and so on. (B) The last few slides discussed the different hypotheses on why this behavior exists. Scott mentioned that many of these hypotheses can be tested, but they require a lot of field work.

- Scott went ahead and combined all of his work on Shingle-leaf plants into an article. Might as well right? The presentation was great. It delved into a odd botanical corner of the plant world which is awesome in all respects. He closed out his presentation by offering a copy of his article to anyone who wanted it. We just needed to send him an email.

 

We closed out the meeting with a ton of questions and back and forth discussion. These plants will need a lot more study for sure. They will keep their mystery for the time being. Scott is a great speaker and has spoken at B.U.S.H Club and many other societies before.

For those who may wondering, B.U.S.H. Club stands for Better Understanding through Study of Horticulture. It is a garden club that goes way back... how far back I actually don't know, but it was one of the first plant societies I became involved with as a kid. It is one of the societies still functioning, barely, in Broward County. The have been doing their meetings online for most of the pandemic. The next two months are the usual off time for the society, but they plan to pick things up in September.

Ryan

--<

 

2 hours ago, Palmarum said:

Last Friday evening, those of us in B.U.S.H. Club were treated to an exceptional presentation by Palm great Scott Zona. He wasn't speaking on palms this evening however, his talk centered on the obscure group of vines known as Shingle-Leaf Climbers. These are those tropical plants that you'll notice growing up sheer surfaces with leaves that appear to be glued flat in place. I have seen these plants before in collections and most notably at the Rare Plant House at Fairchild Gardens. You will notice them growing right up the walls (and ceilings).

The presentation ran about forty minutes and was very informative. I wasn't able to record it, but I did take lots of notes and screenshots. There were dozens of great slides and I have but a few of them here to represent the fun we had learning about this peculiar group of plants...

 

- Scott Zona begins by introducing himself and the title screen of his presentation. The talk was scheduled early, but most of the gathering appeared at around 7:00pm, the usual start time. We had a full group arrive by the time we were a few slides in. (B) Scott gave a quick overview of the group known as shingle-leaf plants (not shingle plants, by the way, those are different) and mentioned how popular they have become as collectable house plants. Collectors have been showcasing their plants on social media; more so during the pandemic. Most Shingle-leaf plants are grown by cuttings, so they are easily traded.

- Diving into the world of these unusual plants was his hobby project during the pandemic. Scott mentioned how he noticed no one had gone through the process of examining these plants before as a group. He made it his quest to figure them out. (B) He went through all the known documentation he could find to classify the plants as a whole. I had thought most, if not all, of the species were in the Aroid (Araceae) family, but to my surprise there are more. Nine other families have Shingle-Leaf plants, including Orchids.

- Many slides began by introducing the attendees to the varied leaf shapes, sizes and forms. (B) Shingle-Leaf plants can be grouped by their growth habit, defined into three groups based on if the leaves remain the same, change shape over time or if they produce lateral horizontal growths when mature. (C) The majority of known species are Aroids, but many slides showcased the habit in other families, including Orchids; all of which were completely new to me.

- Further slides began to show actual examples of each growth habit. This species was another surprise.. notice the genus Psychotria, the Wild Coffee genus! This species is a shingle-leaf climber that often looks the same, like the photo on the left. But when the plant matures, it produces its flowers on horizontal growths, dramatically changing how the plant looks. (B) The talk began to shift to describe how these plants grow on their hosts, or phorophytes. The leaves seem to 'shield' or protect the roots, either by preventing water loss or perhaps protecting them from physical damage. The article on the left in German is one of the earliest descriptions of Shingle-leaf plants. (C) Halfway through the presentation, the discussion focused on 'Why' do these plants grow like this, what is/are the advantage(s).

Ryan

Very cool Ryan.. Thanks for sharing!.. Have seen some great posts when checking Scott's Twitter page from time to time.