Flowers and Food

Sadly, this post is not about edible flowers (someday!). This post is a mixed news report from the past few days.

First, I visited some relatives in the southern part of the state over the weekend, and they had some marvelous irises. I'm a sucker for irises in general, but these were particularly spectacular. They looked more purple than blue in person.

The area had a late frost, which might explain why the flower stalks aren't upright.

The flowers are still wonderful even so low to the ground.

My other news is that when I returned from my trip, I found that my purslane cuttings in water had started developing roots! You can (sort of) see them below as squiggly lines in the water. I suspect the cuttings in soil are getting roots too, since their aerial portions are not nearly as haggard-looking as the indoor plants..

Maybe all six cuttings will grow into thriving purslane plants! Stay tuned to find out.

I think I'll keep these three cuttings inside until their roots are slightly more robust, then plant them outside. Since I don't want to dig up the plants outside, the results of my experiment may just be determined by which plants end up the healthiest. We shall see.

Next post: tomato madness.

Garden Experiment One

I apologize for being silent for so long. I've been busy working. I work at a plant research lab now, and seeing all kinds of research going on around me has inspired me to do some of my own. My research question is: is propagation by cuttings more effective when cuttings are started in water or in soil?

I've read a lot and talked to a lot of people about cuttings. Some say to place the cut end in water; some say soil. I've had the soil method work for me before, but only when rooting hormone was used. For my research I'm using purslane (Portulaca oleracea), which I got for free and which grows everywhere, so I don't feel the need to purchase rooting hormone. Since purslane is so vigorous, I'm going to see if it can take root without fancy hormones.

My research design is simple, though by no means perfect. I've got three cuttings of purslane (I wish I could have gotten bigger ones, but I couldn't find any) in a cup of water and three in a pot of soil. The soil is mostly clay and not very good, but purslane is said to grow in even the poorest soils.

Here are my water cuttings. There are a couple of problems with this setup: it is difficult to keep the cuttings out of the water (which I want to do so bacteria won't alter the results), and I don't want to put this cup outside. That means the light quality isn't the best, though this is right next to a window.

These are the soil cuttings. They're outside, and they're being watered as needed (which shouldn't be much until they grow roots). If these don't take and the water cuttings do, I'll plant them here when they're ready.

Oh, and you may be wondering, "Why are you growing purslane? Isn't that a weed?" Why, yes, it is a weed. It just happens to be an edible and pretty yummy weed that doesn't grow in my immediate vicinity. I would love to cook it up with some Swiss chard for greens.

I will post on the topic of my experiment again when I have updates. But speaking of the chard...

Next post: plant update time!

The Flora of Elephant Rocks: Finale

This is the last post regarding my trip to Elephant Rocks! It was a good time of year to go, and I learned a lot about the local flora (and fauna! see below).

This is the second turtle we saw. There was a third, but he was too far away to photograph. This one's cute as can be. He was showing off his lovely shell. He's even got his head thrown to the side in a glamorous pose. This guy's a future Ralph Lauren model, I'm telling you.

Now back to plants. At the edge of the quarry were these cattails (Typha latifolia), which are neither common nor unheard of in my area. These plants had cottony fluff on their tips. I think the fluff is the fruit of the plant, which has bristles to aid in dispersal.

Kind of different, isn't it? Dandelions and cotton use the same device to propagate their species.

After taking those pictures, we ventured away from the quarry and back onto a trail. There I found a plant that looked very familiar:

It looks like a shamrock (though there is no consensus on what species "shamrock" actually refers to)! While I cannot find any photographic evidence, this plant must be within the Oxalis genus (which also includes purple shamrock and woodsorrel). This picture gives a glimpse of the hot-pink undersides of the leaves.

Looking back, I can't determine whether or not these flowers are coming up from these Oxalis plants. They're pretty, though.

Yeah, still can't tell. I don't see any other leaves around them, so maybe these two have the same roots (pun?).

Here's a final "shamrock" hanging out with another woodsorrel species to the right.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing my trip to Elephant Rocks! What species comes to your mind when you think about shamrocks? Are cattails common in your area? What about turtles?

Next post: the brightest pink of the season thus far.

The Flora of Elephant Rocks, Part II

Today we continue our trek through Elephant Rocks State Park to examine its plant life and diversity.

However, I'm going to start with an organism that isn't really a plant. Pictured is a lichen, which is actually a symbiosis between a fungus (a mycobiont) and a blue-green bacteria (AKA cyanobacteria or photobiont). The fungus in the relationship derives energy from decomposing organic matter on the rock or tree where it lives. The bacteria is photosynthetic, so it derives its energy from the sun. I'm not sure why these two organisms get together, but they do provide energy for each other, so they're a happy couple.

Here's a slightly different lichen.

Now, onto the actual plants. I've never actually encountered lamb's ear (Stachys byzantina, also known as woolly hedgenettle) before, but as soon as I felt this plant's leaves, I knew what it was. The name is completely accurate. Its leaves were very soft and woolly feeling. According to the USDA, these plants are absent in Missouri, but I daresay that is inaccurate.



Lamb's ear's pubescence (hair) gives it a silvery look, which makes it popular in moonlight gardens.

As it is springtime, it should be no surprise that I found a number of wildflowers out at Elephant Rocks. The light on this particular bloom is pretty wonky, but you can still see it.

Here are some even cheerier ones. These are reminiscent of bluebells, only yellow.

Now we're back to another moss. I haven't seen many mosses this color. It's got a kind of 70s shag rug look.

Pictured here is one of the quarries. All of the abandoned ones have filled with rainwater. While a lot of people have died in these deep pools, the changes have created a habitat for these aquatic reeds.

And, finally, while this is not plant-related, I bring you a turtle. Isn't he cute? I took this shot from very far away. This turtle is probably almost a foot long.

Have you ever petted lamb's ear? For those of you who have petted actual lambs' ears, do they feel the same?

Next post: more turtles, and the rest of the plants from Elephant Rocks as well.

The Flora of Elephant Rocks State Park, Part I

I went home last weekend, and I spent part of that time sightseeing. One of the places I visited was Elephant Rocks State Park, a sizeable collection of gigantic granite rocks. The site used to be a granite quarry, so there's a lot of history there. I've been to Elephant Rocks scores of times, though, so I was more interested in the plants. Oh, who am I kidding? Plants are always more interesting. I took a lot of pictures, so there will be a few posts about this. Let's get started!

The first plant at the park that really caught my eye was one you don't often think about seeing in Missouri: the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia genus, possibly humifusa since it's so far east).

While a part of me wanted to harvest a pad or two from this cluster to try to eat, I decided against it. One shouldn't disturb nature when possible, and besides, I didn't have any gloves, and glochids (the tiny spines that lodge in and irritate your skin - the brown furry bits in the following picture) aren't fun. For a cactus, this plant has seemingly survived our wacky winter and spring very well.

I definitely want some edible Opuntia someday. Eating these plants to me is a symbol of man's mastery of nature (read: I can eat things with big sharp spines!). Also, regarding the picture below, isn't it surreal to see moss and cactus in the same frame?

Speaking of the moss, that's what next captured my attention, so I captured some views of it. Moss is really cool (most of their tissues are haploid, meaning they only have one set of chromosomes. The only haploid human tissues are sperm and egg cells), so I usually stop to look at it, but some of the moss I saw at Elephant Rocks was reproducing. This is a phenomenon that only happens in really wet areas (thank you terrible flooding rains!), and it's one that I only recently learned about. That's why seeing cactus and moss in the same spot is odd to me: one needs dry climates, and the other needs very wet climates.

See those little stalks poking up from the moss? Those aren't stems--they're sporophytic (read: diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes) stalks that release spores out of the pointed structures at their tips. The spores are haploid, and they grow into the fuzzy mats of moss you normally see.

The reason moss can only reproduce when its environs are wet is that moss sperm is "swimming sperm," just like in ferns. This means that the sperm cells can't move on their own; instead, they must be carried to and fro in water. Moss can produce all the sperm and eggs it wants when it's dry out, but they will never meet and produce these sporophyte stalks that spit out the next generation of moss.

Before long, there's going to be a lot of moss in this spot!

You can actually see the effects of swimming sperm here. The portions of this clump of moss that aren't in shadow aren't reproducing because water evaporates more quickly from them. The portions that are more protected from the sun's rays are able to reproduce. I didn't think of that when I took this picture. I just thought it was odd that only some of it was producing the sporophyte stalks. Now I'm glad I noticed.

I hope you learned a bit about plants today. Do you still find moss adorable, even though most of its cells are technically sex cells? Are you surprised to see cactus in Missouri? (I've never seen any that big here before.)

Next post: more from Elephant Rocks!

Reaping the Benefits

Since the university's flower shop's cool-season plant sale is over, the greenhouse doesn't need its cool crops anymore. So I got to take some home today! Most of these are eating-size and will be eaten very shortly, so they won't be long-term additions to my plant addiction, but they're really cool and healthy and inspiring and yummy looking.

First is the broccoli (Brassica oleracea) plant. Broccoli really needs to be outside since you eat its flowers, so I'm going to give this one either to Scott's parents, my mom, or anyone else who could take care of it. Its foliage is pretty on its own, though.

This next plant, Lactuca sativa, should be familiar--it's lettuce! This cultivar is called 'Simpson Elite.' It looks soft, and I'm going to have some on a Jimmy John's sandwich tonight, so I'll report back on how it tasted then. I probably could get more out of these four plants by cultivating them, but I don't think the light conditions can support them for long.

This plant also Brassica oleracea, but it is better known as cabbage. This particular cabbage is an ornamental variety, but since it was never treated with pesticides, it's technically edible, so I'm going to eat it. There were non-ornamental varieties too, but they had fewer leaves. I reckon I could make a few servings of cole slaw with this.

Brassica oleracea is one of my favorite species of plants. This one species is amazingly diverse. Case in point: kale. This variety is ornamental in the same manner as the above cabbage, and it is also edible in the same manner. Kale, in my mind, is dismissed as a yuppie vegetable by many, but it cooks up just like spinach or collards, and it has impressive nutrition facts. Not surprisingly, kale's nutrition facts and broccoli's are very similar. Both have a low glycemic index; low fat and cholesterol; high fiber; high protein; high vitamin A, C, and K contents; and high iron contents. The biggest difference when comparing the two is their anti-inflammatory values. Kale is extremely anti-inflammatory; broccoli is only slightly so.

With all these new additions, my windowsill now looks like this:

And while I'm on the topic of my windowsill, here's an update on all my other plants. My thyme seedlings are starting to poke out their first true leaves, which is exciting. For a while I had wondered if they ever would. Oh, and this is as in-focus as the thyme is going to get--my camera just cannot handle objects this small.

Next are my spinach seedlings. They've developed their second sets of true leaves, which is good.

This might not scream Popeye right now, but someday...

My spider plant is looking about the same, but it seems significantly bigger than it was before. I think it enjoyed its stay at my house over spring break. These plants seem to tolerate low light just fine, but they don't really thrive in it.

The jade plant is doing well also. This is just such a sleek plant.

Finally we've come to the Swiss chard. I moved it to my windowsill so it could get more light, which has seemed to help a couple of the seedlings. They're still droopy. On the positive side, most of them (despite the fact that I couldn't get a good picture of this) do have tiny dots that will become their first true leaves. Perhaps the increased surface area of these leaves will help the plants maximize what light they have?

A little bit of research suggests that Swiss chard does not like moving from where it was originally planted. That might contribute to these plants' middling performance. Next year I will be able to plant outside to begin with (in containers, but it's the light that matters), so that should help. In the meantime, I'll see if these go anywhere when I put them out for the summer.

In another bit of news, I might be able to get my plant-loving paws on a purple shamrock and a wandering jew, two of my coveted houseplants from yesterday's post. What's even better is that it looks like I'll be able to get one of those plants for free. More on that when more happens.

Next post: a brief spring favorite (for real this time).

Invasive Plants Presentation

I gave a presentation on invasive plants today! In fact, I just got back from doing that. It went really well, and even though you can't have the audience participation/interaction component, you can benefit from the information I presented. All homeowners need to know about the dangers of invasive plant species, as well as what they can do to help. So without further ado...

Click here to view my Prezi presentation.

Obviously I stated more information in my presentation than what is on the Prezi, so I'll fill in some of the blanks with some of the information from my presentation plan.

Why does it matter if you have an invasive species?

• Local wildlife can’t eat some invasive plants, so when they take over, wildlife suffers
• Invasive plants spread quickly. We’ll look at the ramifications of this in a moment
• Invasive species have caused the extinction of countless native species worldwide, such as the red squirrel population of Great Britain
• One very important impact of invasive species is their threat to biodiversity. So what is biodiversity?
• Here you can see the general impact of invasive species on biodiversity
• I did a survey of biodiversity and invasive plants in Columbia last fall, and we found that areas with invasive species had 47% less biodiversity than areas filled with native species.
• Biodiversity is incredibly important
• In 2009, MU received a $250,000 USDA grant to use a biodiverse system to grow biofuel crops. Why? Because biodiverse plots of land have higher yield
• Bradford Farm’s biodiverse growing systems have fostered growth in the bobwhite quail population
• Biodiversity is good for people and the land because it follows the natural ecology of the region.
• If an invasive plant wipes out one link in the food chain, the entire chain is broken
• Pollinators like bees, moths, and flies require diverse diets just like us, so they pollinate most efficiently in biodiverse areas

An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, especially when you’re managing invasive species. Let’s look at different methods of dealing with invasive plants through this example.

• The first way to prevent this kind of damage from happening is by planting natives. Native plants have natural predators in your area, so they don’t get out of hand.
• The second thing you can do is research. If you’re interested in a certain kind of plant, find out if it is native or exotic. In a moment I will list some resources that will help you identify harmful plants.
• You can also keep your loved ones safe from invasive plant-related heartache by telling them about the dangers of invasive species when they are looking for plants.
• If you wind up with invasive plants all over your house, there are steps you can take. You could pull the plants out of the ground.
• You could also burn the pesky plants.
• Finally, you could turn to biological control, which is the introduction of an organism that is pathogenic to the invasive plant. Are there any potential problems with these cures?
• I suggest you nip this problem at the bud and determine what to plant and what not to plant before you landscape your yard. Here are two of the best websites to help you accomplish this:
• USDA PLANTS Profiles is a database of plants that tells you what they’re like, where they’re from, and if they’re invasive (not all introduced species are).
• GrowNative.org is a Missouri-based website with an impressive list of native and invasive species, a plant identification tool, a landscape guide, a list of resources, and more.

 

• Now you know what invasive plants are, the evil they do, and how to stop them. You can avoid purchasing them, control them if they have already become a problem, and you can help others to do the same. If you all do these things, your future homes will be better places to live, for you and your environment. Thank you.

 

Phew! That's a lot of reading. Have you ever seen some crazy inasive plant infestations? Have you ever used the USDA PLANTS profiles (I used this database almost constantly for about a month and a half last semester)?

 

Next post: an underappreciated wildflower.

Hints of Hope for the Chard

Yesterday I posted about the troubles my seedlings are having. My Swiss chard plants have started to droop over, though otherwise they look healthy. I asked one of my more plant-literate friends about this issue, and she suggested that the problem may be due to inadequate light. Since I don't have a grow light (or indeed any artificial light sources) in that part of the room, this is entirely possible.

So, I have moved my chard farm directly onto the windowsill, like this:

I haven't yet noticed any definite signs of improvement, but hopefully this will help. In other news, my thyme seedlings look just a tiny bit bigger today than I've previously noticed. Note how two of the center seedlings are growing into each other. That wasn't like that two days ago.

If my chard doesn't get better, I have two options for recourse: I could start a new set of seeds and get a grow light (which I want to do anyway), or I could buy some established plants from the Horticulture Club sale in a few weeks. I do love supporting Hort Club, and they're offering Bright Lights/Rainbow Chard/Five-color Silverbeet, which is the exact same variety that I'm growing!

Growing plants isn't always easy, especially if you don't have a yard. Maybe it will work out, though. Have your indoor growing endeavors been successful?

Next post: invasive plants.

University Greenhouse, Part VI: More Scenes from the Tropics

I was tempted to post on another topic today  (so badly tempted--you'll see why tomorrow), but since I promised more greenhouse pictures, here they are.

The first plant from this batch was grouped (as you can see) with a bunch of bromeliads, so I don't know if it's a bromeliad or not. Either way, its bloom was attractive.

My friend who accompanied me on this outing said she was only interested in flowers, not foliage, but even she was intrigued by the coloration on this plant. That's one wonderful thing about plants in general: they're so diverse that some species look like science fiction gone mad.

Has this plant been drinking blood from people's livestock? Or from people? I smell a Little Shop of Horrors sequel.

This next plant is a little sweeter. I don't know if this shot was taken pre-or-post-bloom, but it was pretty either way, and I bet it's dazzling when fully open.

Now comes the star of our show: Theobroma cacao. At first, when I saw this tree's football-shaped fruits, I thought perhaps it was a starfruit variant. I thought it very odd, though, that the fruits would hang right off the trunk instead of the tree's smaller branches.

To give these some sense of scale, each fruit is about as tall as a large man's hand, from the wrist to the fingertips. Meaning they're substantially bigger than my hands.

But then I saw this.

Theobroma = food of the gods. Cacao = cocoa. It's a chocolate tree. That moment was when I realized, once and for all, that I had picked the right university to attend. They have a vanilla plant and a chocolate tree in the same room. I'm a foodie in general, but I have about 30 wicked sweet teeth, so I was caught in a cross between foodie heaven and plant geek heaven. I still am, really. I also want to know who gets to keep these heavenly fruits, though it would take a lot of them (and a lot of time and money, too) to create much chocolate.

So now that I've gotten that out of my system, onto the next plant! This one's called Zambia furfura. Its base looks like a woody artichoke, but its foliage is really something to behold.

Plant rant time: the veins you see on these leaves are parallel and roughly equal in size. This means that our friend Zambia is monocotyledonous. Monocots are plants that only have one seed leaf. If you cut a cross section of one of their stems, the xylem and phloem will basically be distributed randomly throughout the width of the stem. In this case, this is relevant because the veining gives a distinctive, textured look to the leaves, which is what I like about them.

A few days ago, I showed a picture of a fern and briefly alluded to the method by which ferns reproduce (and the fact that ferns need moist environments to reproduce). Well, here's what ferns look like when they reproduce. Those clusters on the bottom of the leaves are called sori (sorus is the singular version). Sori release spores into the air. These spores are not seeds; they develop into a weird leaf-like structure called a prothallus. Prothalli develop male and female reproductive parts, and those allow fertilization to occur, producing an embryo. The embryos become the new fern, not the prothalli. However, this can only happen when the prothalli are wet because fern sperm is considered "swimming sperm," and it can't move except through water. That is why you'll find a lot of ferns in wet woodland areas rather than dusty, open plains. Man, that's two plant rants in a row!

Here's a break for your brain: I don't know what this plant is, but it grows in a spiral pattern, so it looks cool.

This unnamed plant is another of those that look so exotic to me that they seem extra-terrestrial. Alternatively, this plant would fit in on a seafloor.

I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about plants (and seeing what chocolate fruits look like)! Have you ever thought a plant looked like it would be at home on another planet?

Next post: terribly exciting news!