Science and Inquiry discussion

I'm a botanist by profession and have worked with plants for about 20 years. I have worked looking for rare plants, surveying and describing plant communities, and identification of plants. Lately, my work has focused on restoration of degrated plant communities including uplands and my first wetland restoration. .

Over the years, I've developed a fascination with the tiny worlds of lichens and mosses. Which then led to an appreciation for ancient trees with their epiphyte communities.

I'm also interested in gardening (food and flowers).

So, my interests are broad.

This is in answer to another of your questions on what areas interest us. I took some classes in Botany at the university several years ago. I have to admit that most of it bored me and was startled to discover that because I have been gardening since the age of 7 and I am now 71.
I am interested in finding out if a wetland can be replicated because I don't think it can and developers and contractors constantly go before town boards promising to do so. Even with restoration of wetlands, it has been my opinion that the process is so slow that the restoration will never duplicate the original.
Of course I am interested in the genus of plants and the discovery of new and rare plants. That, I find most interesting.

I will set up a thread for wetlands, because I think this is an excellent point, Ann, and deserves more discussion.

Hmmm, tought one. But I'd love to have been able to study Botany at college, the nuts and bolts of how plants work, what purpose all the various pieces of plant anatomy serve. For example many plants have red areas on the leaf stems, or coloured spots.
Also one subject that interests me is the origina of the Rose. A layman looking at the wild dog rose (Rosa canina) would never guess that the modern roses originated from such a plant, but I'd like to know when it happened and where? I also had a book from the library on the origin of modern fruit and vegetables-absolutely fascinating! I think it was called Of Cabbages and Queens.

I just spent the weekend trying to rid the yard of poison ivy...so I guess I'm pretty interested in that area right about now! ha.ha.

Salvatrice - with chemicals or by hand?

by hand...I read that it was not advisable to try to pull it out by the roots so I just cut it down and removed it...I will have to do it again, but I'm hoping that eventually it will give up...any ideas?
I'm not too keen on using chemicals anywhere, but I'm not totally opposed to it.

My guess is that repeatedly cutting it down will eventually have an effect, if you stay after it and don't let it get big and build up its energy reserves again--

I'm not sure what herbicide treatment is recommended for poison ivy--we have poison oak here in Western Oregon. I would think that you could try Round-up since it can work for poison oak and they are closely related--the plants that is.

Have you considered smothering it under a covering of cardboard and mulch? That would probably kill it, but be careful if you go in afterward and remove the dead plants.

What exactly is poison ivy? I know poison oak is a sumach which over here is a common ornamental garden shrub with furry stems and white sap, but poison ivy??

Poison ivy is a relative of poison oak and poison sumac. I've read that poison sumac is more toxic and causes more severe reactions. Be aware that there is a non-poisonous ornamental plant called sumac as well. . .

Here in western Oregon, poison oak grows almost everywhere except in wetter habitats. It can grow as a shrub or climb tree trunks like a vine. Evil plant can fool you and look very much like a young oak sapling, then give you a nasty rash later if you touch it.

I assume Salvatrice can tell us what poison ivy looks like . . .?

By the way,

Poison ivy - Rhus toxicodendron
Poison oak - Rhus diversiloba
Poison sumac - Rhus vernix

The ornamental sumacs include Rhus microphylla, R. typhina, R. aromatica and R. glabra - also known as little leaf sumac, staghorn sumac, fragrant sumac and smooth sumac.

Ah so it is related to our ornamental, which is Rhus typhinus

Melissa wrote: "..."

I sure can! We have the joy of living with poison oak and poison ivy ~~ the oak is the same on this coast, but the ivy comes in a few different forms, climbing and sprawling. the giveaway is that it always grows three-leafed...the girl scouts teach "1,2,3...don't touch me" or "leaves of three let-it-be" the problem is that it's so prevalent and the ivy in my yard was so overgrown and deeply wound through the established plants!!! I was pretty proud of myself for getting through the day without getting a reaction. I was advised to rinse off with bleach water after touching it...

Hmmm leaves divided into 3, so that's why its called poison ivy!

Perhaps you need to rent a goat; I hear they eat poison ivy.

Susanna wrote: "Perhaps you need to rent a goat; I hear they eat poison ivy."

Susanna, that's a great idea! Don't know how the neighbors would feel about it, but it would work!!!

I recently learned the hard way that one can suddenly develop an allergy to poison ivy at any stage in one's life. My days of showing off my immunity: over. Turns out poison ivy totally sucks.

Alex wrote: "I recently learned the hard way that one can suddenly develop an allergy to poison ivy at any stage in one's life. My days of showing off my immunity: over. Turns out poison ivy totally sucks."

I agree. For the first time, I just got a bad case of poison ivy a few months ago. I didn't have a clue, as to where I got it. I felt totally miserable for about a week.

ok it might be a odd request, can you help with my project on ecology? what are edaphic factors and what is pyrammid of numbers?

Edaphic factors are those associated with the soils in the habitat of interest. They might pertain to soil type, drainage characteristics, etc.

Pyramid of numbers . . . depends on what you are looking at. I think it primarily demonstrates the distribution of organisms in the food chain of the system. Maybe relative populations numbers by trophic levels? Plants at the bottome up to the big predators on top?

thank you Melissa, one last question what is niche?

I love the word niche.

In general use, it means a little sheltered place, like a recess in the wall.

However, as an ecological term, niche refers to the place a species occupies it its ecosystem. Niche encompasses the habitat of the organism, as well as the role the species has in the ecosystem, and how it affects its ecosystem.

thanks Mellisa, i know i am probably very late to say that but thanks!

Of course you are welcome Filza. And if you ever have more questions just ask!

I'd love to become more acquainted with the wonderful world of botany. What is it exactly that Botanists do? I'd love to know... Flora has always been a large part of human society, especially symbolically, and in art, etc. (which is partly why I'm drawn to it).

For example, the House of Plantagenet has its name derived from the name of a shrub, the common broom, known in Latin as the Planta genista. It is claimed the nickname arose because an ancestor of the Plantagenet House, Geoffrey of Anjou, wore a sprig of the common broom in his hat. It's one of the many fascinating examples of how flora plays a significant part in human cultural history.

I'm happy to talk about botany with you Max. The study of plant life is facinating to me.

An education in botany can lead in many directions--research, teaching, conservation biology, habitat restoration, paleobotany, ethnobotany . . .

I've worked primarily for government agencies, supporting rare plant population studies, as well as restoration of specialized habitats to support fragile plant communities, such as wetlands.

There are botanists that focus on the taxonomy of plants, the structure of plant communities, plant genetics, reproduction, biological prospecting (looking for new medicines, etc. from plant compounds), identification of fossilized pollen (in the study of paleontology) and plant geography (the distribution of plants in a spatial sense.)

I've always been interested in the use of plants as sources of dyes. Plant roots, leaves and flowers can yeild a variety of colors depending on the mordants used. Also, although not technically plants, lichens and fungi also provide some striking colors for natural fabrics.

Thanks for replying, Melissa!

I'm most interested in plant research, and work based on improving the knowledge of plant properties, taxonomy, and mostly what you mention in the second paragraph of your message ('looking for new medicines', etc.)

Which field area would you say is the most pioneering, in terms of there being potential for new discoveries and research or what not?

Regards,

Max

Thinking. . .

I would think that the field of plant genetics is by far the most active at this time. Researchers have recently turned plant systematics on its head as a result of all the results of DNA analysis. The plant families that we all learned just 10 years ago have been splintered and re-combined to such an extent that traditional methods of field identification based on plant morphology just won't work anymore.

That's very interesting Melissa, and thank you for taking the time to think about it. I'd very much like to get into botany, how would you suggest I proceed as a beginner?

Do you live near a community college? They often have great classes for identifying wildflowers, trees, or just a beginning botany class.

I'm not sure if I do but I'll look into it. Otherwise I suppose I could get that kind of knowledge from books, the internet, etc.?

Identification of plants is the place to start. To be successful, you'll need to become familiar with the terminology, and then spend some time viewing anatomy of flowers and leaves.

Reproductive biology and ecology are also important. Plants have different life cycles and there are major differences in their systems of sexual reproduction.

In my next post, I'll share a few good websites for you to take a look at.

I am interested in carnivorous plants, their ecology and the bio-mechanics of their traps......They are such a fascinating group that one can think of countless questions on them......

Also, of interest are the invasive species, their ecology and their phylogeny & systematics.....The last part is actually quite complicated with the appearance of hundred's of varieties, sub species etc.....

I'm generally interested in the botany I need to do my job well. I started off learning to ID plants as a child, so I bet that helped. Of course when I went to school on the other side of the Rockies I had to learn them all over again...

For Max, and anyone else interested in learning botany, I can recommend the following websites:

The Botanical Society of America
www.botany.org

Ohio State, General plant biology
http://www.hcs.ohio-state.edu/hcs300/...

University of Arizona, Extension Service, plant morphology
http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/...


Also, to Shabbeer

Carnivorous Plants:
http://www.botany.org/Carnivorous_Pla...

Kirsten wrote: "I'm generally interested in the botany I need to do my job well. I started off learning to ID plants as a child, so I bet that helped. Of course when I went to school on the other side of the Roc..."

Every time I move or start a new job, it seems like it has been in a new ecological area, with all new plant communities and plants I'm not familiar with, so I start learning all over again!

it's always good to learn, stages don't matter lest you are still learning!

I agree Filza.

Learning keeps us alive!