Tạp chí Amazing World of Plants _Tell Me Why

Tạp chí Amazing World of Plants _Tell Me Why

TELLMEWHY November 2015 j Volume: , No: 11 FROM THE HOUSE OF MAGIC POT, THE WEEK MAHOIWAA YEARBOoK YAH!THA THE MAlAYAIA MAHOIWAA DAILY PLANT WONDERS 'Poor plants, they cannot even walk', people generally say But are plants really so 'poor' and helpless? Definitely not Many plants are blessed with survival skills that surpass those of even the cleverest of animals For instance, there are plants that are adept at hunting, and oth­ ers that have ingenious ways to defend themselves.The pitcher plant is a well-known plant that hunts insects by trapping them in its leaves Look at the all-too-familiar, 'touch-me-not' Touch it, and the plant droops, and withdraws like a shy child In fact, it is cleverly defending itself by playing dead! There are plants that are good at camouflage and adaptation too, like living stones and baobabs This issue of Tell Me Why will give you an insight into the fantas­ tic world of plant wonders OLD IS GOLD Which is the oldest liv­ ing tree? B ristlecone pine trees dot the rocky landscape of the White Mountains in California There must be some­ thing special about these mountains, for the two oldest trees in the world have been found there Bristlecone Pine The oldest living tree till 201 3, was 4845 years old! It was a bristleco ne pine, which was lovingly named Methuselah The exact location of this tree was kept a secret, for its own protection Then researchers found an even older tree in the same mountains It is also a bristle­ cone pine, and it is believed to be 5062 years old ! In Sicily, the Tree of O ne Hundred Horses is an enor­ mous chestnut near the Mount Etna volcano It is thought to be about 4,000 years old Its unusual name comes from an old legend where 00 drenched knights and their wet steeds sought ref­ uge from a thunderstorm beneath the tree's protective branches How bristlecone pines help us understand climate chang­ es? B ristlecone pines are incred­ ibly dense and resino us trees The wood of these trees grows very, very slowly, and becomes extremely hard over time Many bristlecone pines may live for two or three thousand years L ike all trees, bristlecone pines have growth rings that give us a picture of the climate during its lifetime O nce the tree is in its third or fourth millennium, it will die Even when they are dead, these trees still tend to remain standing, and instead of rotting, the wood hardens even more The patterns in the growth of their rings give us a peek into ancient climatic records The changes in bristlecone growth patterns are giving researchers clues about climate changes Hello sir, How old are you? AMAZING WORLD OF PLANTS What is unique about the creosote bush? Creosote Bush T - '�\' , " , I ' \ he creosote bush, also known as greasewood, is found in the warm deserts of the world In spring and summer, these plants produce yellow flowers But what makes the creosote bush truly unique, is its leaves The leaves are small, and are coated with natural oils and wax to conserve water through slower evaporation D u ring dry periods, creosote leaves fold in half to cut their expo­ sure to the sun If there is a severe drought, the creosote bush sheds its leaves entirely, and remains somewhat dormant until the rains arrive These leaves have a distinc­ tive pungent smell that grows Tel l Me Why stronger as soon as the summer rains start Creosote bushes pro­ duce a large number of seeds at each flowering It takes decades for creo­ sote bushes to grow Even a thirty centimetre high plant is probably at least ten years old Clone Kids Plants that repro­ duce through their roots produce clones of them­ selves These clones are genetically What is special about the King Clone creosote ring? P lants reproduce in different ways In the case of tne creosote bush, it reproduces by sprouting new plants from its roots The new plants are clones of the parent plant, and grow in a circle around it These circles are called creosote rings The rings grow big­ ger and bigger as each year pass­ es, and new plants are added to the ring The oldest creosote ring on earth is called the 'King Clone' creosote ring It is located in the Mojave Desert in California, and is still alive In fact, it is one of the oldest living organisms on earth The King Clone creosote ring is estimated to be 1 ,700 years old, and has an aver­ age diameter of 3.5 metres It is not a perfect circle- in some places, the diameter even reaches an amazing 20.4 metres! identical to the par­ ent plant Huge col­ onies of clones are thus produced by a single plant King Clone Creosote AMAZING WORLD OF PLANTS - Which is the oldest potted plant? C Cycads YCadS are tropical plants that were on Earth even before the beginning of the Jurassic Era In the 770s, the first plant hunter from the Kew Royal Botanical Gardens in London visited the Eastern Cape region of South Africa His name was Francis Masson, and he brought back a huge cycad to the conservatory of the Kew Garderns It has a tall, stout stem, topped with a dense, upright crown of bright­ green palm-like leaves The leaves are up to 2.5 metres in length The plant is called the Eastern Cape Giant Cycad, and is stili liv­ ing, making it the oldest potted plant in the world One of the fastest growing plants is the bamboo Some varieties can grow an incredible one metre a day! Tel l Me Why Veg World Which is your favourite vegetable? Well, you have a choice of from over the 2000 different varieties of plants that we use as food! What is remarkable about the pando? T he pando is a clonal colony of quaking aspen trees This massive colony grew from a single tree, and is spread over 00 acres It is located in Fishlake National Forest in Utah, USA There are around 47,000 trees that share a giant underground root system The pando is estimated to have originated at least 80,000 years ago The trees col lectively weigh 6,61 tonnes, making the pando the heaviest living organism on the planet, as well This colony of quaking aspen trees is also known as the 'trem­ bling giant' The name is apt, because the quaking aspen has leaves that stir even in the gentlest breeze to produce a fluttering sound Pando The effect of tens of thousands of trees, fluttering their leaves together can be unnerving as it invokes the feeling of an ancient giant that is trembling Why are plant seeds called time travellers? T he seeds of a plant generally survive long after the plant has died Some seeds can grow into plants even after thousands of years In 954, Harold Schmidt, an engineer, discovered some seeds in burrows about six metres below the surface of the frozen ground of the Canadian Arctic He told a number of local people about his find, and put the seeds in a dry place Twelve years later, 10 Lupinus Arcticus a scientist, Dick Harrington, along with his colleagues, decided to see whether the seeds were still able to grow into plants Please keep these for the next century Tel l Me Why What are the features of the western underground orchid? The western underground orchip is Underground Orchid a really strange plant It spends its entire life underground! This amazing plant is found only in Western Australia The plant spend � its entire growth cycle below the suri face of the ground Even when it flowers, the blooms are several centimetres below the soil surface Unlike most other plants, this orchid does not photosynthesize its own food Rather, it gets its nutrients from a fungus associated with the roots of the broom brush shrub What is fascinating is the very tight relationship between the orchid, the fungus, and the broom bush In fact, the seeds of this orchid can germinate only when infected by this particular fungus and that too, only if the fun­ gus is actually living on the roots of the broom bush! Red Alert The western underground orchid " is a very rare plant indeed It is thought that there are only 50 such plants left in the world! The plant is therefore, classified as vulnerable on the 997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants 84 Tel l Me Why Cycads Where is the Venda cycad seen? C YCadS are group of unique plants that appeared on the plan­ et 280 million years ago These plants were dominant d u ring the Jurassic and Triassic periods The number of cycads started to decline when flowerI my l ove plants AMAZING WORLD OF PLANTS i ng plants appeared on the Earth Cycads can sur­ vive in different conditions­ in tropical rainforests, deserts, swamps, and rocky areas Cycads have cylindrical woody stem without branch­ es The stem is covered with corky bark One of the rarest of cycads is the Ven­ da cycad People collect them for ornamental purposes, and today, it is one of the nine most threatened plants in the world This hairy plant is found only in the Limpopo prov­ ince of South Africa, but there are unconfirmed reports that this plant has become extinct in the wild 85 What is a jellyfish tree? T he jellyfish tree is a very unusual tree that grows on Mahe Island, Seychelles It is currently one of the rar­ est plant species in the world Its total population is fewer than 30 plants scattered over three hilltops on Mahe The jel­ lyfish tree is a small tree that grows only to a height of metres or so It has simple, leathery leaves, and whitish red flowers The female rep ro86 ductive parts of the flower resemble the tentacles of a jel­ Iyfish hence its name The seeds are dispersed by wind, which is uncommon among plants on small oceanic islands, as the seeds can be easily wasted by blowing into the sea Jellyfish Tree The jellyfish tree was thought to be extinct until the 970s, when a few trees were found, but the species is still on the brink of extinction Tell Me Why Where can you find the poke­ me-boy tree? Anegada The poke-me- boy tree is an rise as a result of global cli­ mate change The discovery of additional specimens of poke-me-boy on Fallen Jerusalem is cause for optimism Fallen Jerusalem is an unin­ habited island of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbe­ an Although it is even smaller in size than Anegada, Fallen Jerusalem is already a Nation­ al Park where building is for­ bidden, so as to save the poke-me-boy tree extremely spiky shrub- hence its local name of 'poke-me­ boy' U ntil recently, this tree was found only in Anegada, a low­ lying coral limestone island in the British Virgin Islands It is an endangered species because it is found only in a very small area, much of which is under threat from housing and hotel developments It could also face difficulties if sea levels around Anegada AMAZING WORLD OF PLANTS 87 How are you little fern? Ascension Island What is special about the Ascen­ sion Island parsley fern? The Ascension Island parsley fern is a fern that resembles a miniature parsley plant This fern occurs only on Ascension, a volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, 88 just south of the Equator The plant has fronds that have been described as being, 'brittle, glistening, pale but bright yellow­ green when fresh' It was in 843 that the botanist Joseph Hooker discovered this tiny plant on a visit to Ascension Island However, the fern decreased dramatically in numbers u ntil the late 950s After that, botanists thought that it had become extinct since it could not be found in any areas In fact, the species was thought to be extinct for over 50 years, when four tiny plants were rediscov­ ered by conservation biol­ ogists in 2009 Tel l Me Why Coral Tree Why is the Lake Lutamba coral tree critically endangered? T he Rare to Find The Ascension Island parsley fern, is now classified as critically endan­ gered plant • Radha Nair Lake Lutamba coral tree belongs to the genus of 'coral trees' which have beautiful red flowers and spiny trunks The tree was first discovered and collected in the 930s, in an area of forest on the sides of Lake Lutamba, in southern coastal Tanzania It was declared extinct in 998 In 2001 , it was rediscovered in a small patch of unprotected forest- but became extinct again In 201 botanists from Tanzania's University of Dar es Salaam managed to collect specimens with both flowers and fruit Today, it is fou nd only in this one locality- and there are only mature trees left This has led to the species' current status on the I UCN Red List as critically endangered AMAZING WORLD OF PLANTS 89 Robinson Crusoe Island Hurray, we are team anti-gravity Why is the Dendroseris nerii­ folia unique? O ne of the rarest trees in the world is dendroseris neriifolia There are only two trees known to grow in the wild, in an ravine-Quebrada eroded Lapiz-in the eastern part of Robinson Crusoe Island This island rose above the sea level some 3.8-4.2 million years ago and since it is so isolated, its plant life is unique Dendroseris neriifolia is a large tree-if it is allowed to grow-with small yellow-white Tel l Me Why flowers and elongated leaves Just like other members of this genus, this plant is endangered by the introduced spe­ cies of plants, soil ero­ sion and especially by the grazing by rabbits In 201 there were known only two plants in the wilderness-both in Quebrada Lapiz Several more are being grown in gardens in the main village of the island-San Juan Bautis­ ta Hopefully, this plant will continue to survive, and prove useful to mankind in the future Gibraltar Campion What are the features of the Gibraltar campion? The Gibraltar Campion is a very rare flowering plant fou nd on the high cliffs of Gibraltar The plant was believed to be extinct outside Gibraltar in the 980s Unfor­ tunately, in 992, all traces of this plant vanished completely, and it was finally declared extinct Then in 994, a climber found a sin­ gle plant, high up on a cliff The plant was grafted at the Millennium Seed Bank and specimens are now grown at the Alameda Gibraltar Botanic Gar­ dens, as well as at the Royal Botanic Gardens in London The Gibraltar Campion has pretty pink and violet flowers, and it is heart­ ening to know that their beauty will colour the Earth in the future too, as it has done in the past What makes the parrot's beak inter­ esting? The Parrot's Beak is one of the most beautiful flowers, but unfortunately it is also one of the rarest Found on Canary Islands, this beak shaped flower loves to bloom in full sunshine The flower has been on the decline, since 884, and is now pro­ tected by law on the Canary Islands The plant is a vine with orange-red or red flowers The flowers appear to have been adapted for pollination by birds In fact, sunbirds used to be the main pol­ linators As the sunbird population declined in the Canary Islands, the plant suf­ fered The plant is now on the brink of extinction Doubl COCO U The world's larg­ est seed is that of the coc-de-mer, which is also called the double coconut tree This palm tree is found in the Sey­ chelles Parrot's Beak Middlemist Red What is the Middlemist red? T he Middlemist Red is possibly the rarest flowering plant in the world It is found in only two loca- �OUI , �� U �� � tions - a garden in New Zea­ land, and a greenhouse in the UK The plant was originally brought to the UK from Chi­ na in 804 by John Mid­ dlemist, a nurseryman, who donated it to Kew Gardens in London It has since van­ ished from there and has become extinct in China too Middlemist Red belongs to the camellia family of flowers Camellias are evergreen shrubs with large, beautiful flowers The colours of the flowers vary from white through pink colours to red Truly yellow flowers are found only in South China Funnily and Vietnam enough, Middlemist Red is not red at all, but a lovely pink! One to Many The Koki'o kokai tree is one of the rarest trees in the world, found only in Hawaii One of the branches of the last remaining tree was saved, and it was grafted into 23 trees AMAZING WORLD OF PLANTS 93 Why is the ghost orchid fascinating? T he ghost orchid is a rare type of orchid which is mostly found in Cuba and Florida These orchids like marshy places where it is always humid and damp Ghost orchids not have leaves Their green, white, and grey roots attach them­ selves to a tree, and takes all the nourish­ ment that the plant needs from the host tree Ghost orchids produce only one flower at a time, but in rare cases, they can also produce up to flowers It has also been observed that mature plants of ghost orchids live a number of years without flowering Flowers of ghost orchids appear between May and August, and grow to a length of to cm In appearance, the plant looks like a ghost floating in air That's the reason it is called ghost orchid Ghost Orchid What makes the wolffia a wonder? Wolffia The wolffia is the smallest size of its parent, so you can imagine how tiny the plant itself is In fact, if you tried to fill a thim­ ble with wolffia plants, it is esti­ mated that you would need some 5000 of them! flowering plant in the plant kingdom It is also known as watermeal It is an aquatic plant that is found in quiet freshwater lakes, or marshes world­ wide Since the plants have no roots, they can easily float on the surface of the water The fruit of the wolffia is also the smallest and lightest in the world The fruits are only around 0.30 mm long, and weigh about 70 micrograms What is amazing is that compared to the size of the parent plant, the fruit is huge It is about a third or more the AMAZING WORLD OF PLANTS W here is the flower? 95 Corrections & Clarifications Shankha Sinchan Saha, a student of Holy Angels' School, Katwa, points out a correction to the Tell Me Why issue on Our Rivers (June) She refers to the mention on Page 7, where it is wrongly stated that the Nar­ mada and Tapti flow east­ wards, while the rest flow westwards In fact, the Nar­ mada and Tapti rivers flow westwards while the rest M.M Publications Ltd., flow eastwards Dr M R Ravikrishnan, Coimbatore, points out another correction to the same issue On page 49, it is mentioned that the river Thamirabarani has a red­ dish tinge as it has small amount of copper Actually, the red colour is due to the presence of oxides of iron Thank you readers for your valuable feedback PATNA: - Editor COIMBATORE: P.B No 226, Kottayam, Kerala, India, Malayala Manorama, Pin - 686 001 608, JagatTrade Centre, frazar Road, 101, Sunshine Buildings, 1056, Avinashi Road, Phone: 0481 - 2563721 - 22, 23 Patna - 800001 Coimbatore - 641 018 fax: ++91 - 481 - 2564393 Phone: 0612 - 2233809 E mail: subscription@mmp.in JAIPUR: LUCKNOW: Malayala Manorama, Uo Royal Business Centre, Usha Plaza, Phone: 0522 - 2341576 childrensdivision@mmp.in NEW DELHI: Malayala Manorama (0 Ltd., Andhra Vanitha Mandali Building, 2, Azad Bhavan Road, Indraprastha Estate, Malayala Manorama, Near Jaipur Tower, M.I Road, Jaipur - 302 001 Phone: 0141 - 2368360 Mob: 94616 28972 HYDERABAD: New Delhi - 10 002 Malayala Manorama, Phone: 01 - 23379718, 23379719, C/o Dr B.C Mathur, 8-2- 629/1/B, 23379720 Road No.12, Banjara Hills, MUMBAI: Hyderabad - 500 034 A- 404 Marathon Innova, BENGALURU: Malayala Manorama, A Wing 4" floor, lower Parel (West), - Phone: 040 - 23314168, 23324692 Malayala Manorama, Malayala Manorama, Phone: 2241 911 2245470 B - 1657, Indira Nagar, lucknow - 226 016 CHANDIGARH: Malayala Manorama, H No 2252, Ground floor Annexe, Sector 21- C Chandigarh -160 022 Phone: 0172 - 2724699 Mob: 09417310727 BHOPAL: Malayala Manorama, Plot No.161, Gopal Bhawan, Zone 1, M.P Nagar, Bhopal Phone: 0755 - 2557937 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Malayala Manorama, Mumbai 400 013 No 132, Kantha Court, 3rd floor, Phone: 022 - 39495969, 24900B4,4 Lli Baugh Road, Bengaluru - 560 027 P.B No 160, Thampanoor East, 24901331 Phone: 22247735 36 Thiruvananthapuram - 695 001 KOLKATA: (HENNAI: KOCHI: Malayala Manorama, Malayala Manorama, Malayala Manorama, 14 Para"r Road, Near LIke Market, Janprtya Crest (III floor) No: 113, P.B No 5008, Panampilly Nagar, Kolkata - 700029 Pantheon Road, Egmore, Chennai - 600 008 Kochi - 682 036, Kerala Phone: 033 - 24198233, 24198048 Phone : 04466918530 31 Phone: 0484 - 2316285 96 Phone: 2328198 Tel l Me Why I Wonder Why? Question of the Month Why is it necessary to close our eyes when we sleep? Question sent by: Nia Mithal, Lucknow on email Send us your questions E mail: tellmewhy@mmp.in Rest your head on your pillow, and close your eyes A good night's sleep awaits you But wait! Why are you closing your eyes? Is this neces­ sary to sleep well? For most people, closing one's eyes while sleeping is necessary There are many reasons for this One is that it actually prevents for­ eign objects from entering the eyes It also prevents the eyes from drying out If your eyes were open all night, they would lose their moisture Another important reason is that closing eyes allows the eye muscles to relax completely So now, close you r eyes and sleep tight! AMAZING WORLD OF PLANTS • Indhu Thomas 97 • SCI ENCE WO N DERS To subscribe www.manoramaonline.com/subscribe OR eal! us 1800 4255 002 (Toll -free) MANORAMA TELL ME WHY · AMAZING WORLD OF PLANTS Chief Editor: Ammu Mathew Editor-in-Charge: A.V Harisanker* Printed and Published by V Sajeev George, on behalf of M.M Publications ltd, P.B No n6, Konayam - 686001 at M.M Publications ltd, P.B No 226, Kottayam - 686 001 and Malayala Manorama Press, Kottayam - 686 039 and published from M.M Publications ltd, P.B No 226, Konayam - 686 001 • • Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act ... plants have hoods, or caps The purpose of the hood on most pitcher plants is AMAZING WORLD OF PLANTS L I",",,"-�-� " 39 Why North American pitcher plants stink? As the liquid inside the cup of. .. acteristics AMAZING WORLD OF PLANTS 31 Venus Flytrap Why is the Venus flytrap an amazing plant? S ome plants can attract, trap, kill, and digest insects or other small animals Such plants are... places, the diameter even reaches an amazing 20.4 metres! identical to the par­ ent plant Huge col­ onies of clones are thus produced by a single plant King Clone Creosote AMAZING WORLD OF PLANTS -