Re: [ECOLOG-L] Suggestions wanted: world's weirdest plants
Neottia nidus-avis is a non-photosythethic orchid that lives in symbiosis with a mycorrhizal fungus. You can find it on the Appennines in central italy Best Isabella http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neottia_nidus-avis - Original Message From: malcolm McCallum malcolm.mccal...@herpconbio.org To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Sent: Tue, 16 August, 2011 15:51:25 Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Suggestions wanted: world's weirdest plants Seriously, the Indian Pipeno chlorophyll! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotropa_uniflora On Tue, Aug 16, 2011 at 9:10 AM, malcolm McCallum malcolm.mccal...@herpconbio.org wrote: here is a very weird plant http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triffid picture: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=day+of+the+triffidsum=1hl=ensa=Nbiw=1195bih=453tbm=ischtbnid=E-tSFZAMRouWeM:imgrefurl=http://blackholereviews.blogspot.com/2005/11/day-of-triffids-1967-deleted-scenes.htmldocid=0UFhjVezT7SpyMw=862h=638ei=eHlKTs_LHqL40gG7w6nrBwzoom=1iact=rcdur=630page=8tbnh=129tbnw=194start=76ndsp=13ved=1t:429,r:1,s:76tx=133ty=71 Here is another one... http://www.examiner.com/movie-events-in-salt-lake-city/the-thing-from-another-world-31-days-of-horror r Ok, so they are not REAL plantsbut they sure are weird! Leave it to someone who likes old mind-numbing sci-fi Malcolm On Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 6:25 PM, Benjamin Blonder bblon...@email.arizona.edu wrote: Hi everyone, I'm about to embark on a middle school teaching project where students will learn about a really odd species of plant - they'll investigate its natural history, adaptation, etc., then make a presentation to the class on their findings. I'd like your help with the names of some of your favorite weird plants - especially charismatic ones are particularly welcome. I'm hoping to have a list of about 50 in the end. Some examples of the kinds of plants I'm imagining: Welwitschia, Amorphophallus, Nepenthes, Hura... Once enough suggestions come in, I'd be pleased to summarize the names to the list. Thanks! Benjamin Blonder University of Arizona -- Malcolm L. McCallum Oceania University of Medicine Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive - Allan Nation 1880's: There's lots of good fish in the sea W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. -- Malcolm L. McCallum Oceania University of Medicine Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive - Allan Nation 1880's: There's lots of good fish in the sea W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Suggestions wanted: world's weirdest plants
I nominate: 1. Trigger plants (Stylidiaceae - Australia). They slap pollinators with their reproductive parts to effect pollination. 2. Resurrection plant (Selaginella)- desert species and eastern epiphytes. Yes, they look dead until you add water. 3. Epiphytic Bromeliads (in general) because they are so obviously cool. 4. Rafflesiaceae includes one of the worlds largest (Rafflesia arnoldii) and smallest (Pilostyles thurberi) flowers (The second one is a plant that lives entirely inside the stems of desert shrubs - except for the flowers). 5. Ophrys speculum orchids for their pseudocopulation pollination system. 6. Marine flowering plants like Zostera and Thallasia (sea grass) because they represent weird evolutionary transitions back to the ocean, they are some of the only plants that flower and are pollinated completely under water, and they have some of the largest pollen grains (long, thread-like). 7. Vallisneria seems like an ordinary aquatic plant, but it has a weird pollination system where male flowers break off and float on the water surface like little boats. The female flowers stay attached on long stems and open on the water surface. Male flowers are then drawn to the females as the water surface is depressed by surface tension around the females. 8. Basal Angiosperms (water lilies such as Nymphaea, Brasenia, Nuphar) because they like leftover dinosaurs from the deep evolutionary past of the flowering plants. 9. Buzz pollination plants like shooting star (Dodecatheon) and Melestoma because they are also cool. Steve Buckman did an awesome analysis of that demonstrated the physics of pollen ejection from the anthers and then electrostatic charges that sicks the pollen to the pollinator's body. 10. Gnetum, which is classified as a Gymnosperm but is really a transitional group because they have double fertilization that is more like the Angiosperms. Some species are also used as herbal remedies in China. 11. Wild ginger (Asarum) because they are one of the only plants that is (might be) ant pollinated. 12. Touch-me-not (jewel weed - Impatiens) and other plants with projectile seed dispersal. Yeah, and there are plenty of others, but there are a few I can think of right off. Mitch Cruzan On 8/15/2011 4:25 PM, Benjamin Blonder wrote: Hi everyone, I'm about to embark on a middle school teaching project where students will learn about a really odd species of plant - they'll investigate its natural history, adaptation, etc., then make a presentation to the class on their findings. I'd like your help with the names of some of your favorite weird plants - especially charismatic ones are particularly welcome. I'm hoping to have a list of about 50 in the end. Some examples of the kinds of plants I'm imagining: Welwitschia, Amorphophallus, Nepenthes, Hura... Once enough suggestions come in, I'd be pleased to summarize the names to the list. Thanks! Benjamin Blonder University of Arizona
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Suggestions wanted: world's weirdest plants
Venus fly traps would definitely appeal to middle school kids. I nominate: 1. Trigger plants (Stylidiaceae - Australia). They slap pollinators with their reproductive parts to effect pollination. 2. Resurrection plant (Selaginella)- desert species and eastern epiphytes. Yes, they look dead until you add water. 3. Epiphytic Bromeliads (in general) because they are so obviously cool. 4. Rafflesiaceae includes one of the worlds largest (Rafflesia arnoldii) and smallest (Pilostyles thurberi) flowers (The second one is a plant that lives entirely inside the stems of desert shrubs - except for the flowers). 5. Ophrys speculum orchids for their pseudocopulation pollination system. 6. Marine flowering plants like Zostera and Thallasia (sea grass) because they represent weird evolutionary transitions back to the ocean, they are some of the only plants that flower and are pollinated completely under water, and they have some of the largest pollen grains (long, thread-like). 7. Vallisneria seems like an ordinary aquatic plant, but it has a weird pollination system where male flowers break off and float on the water surface like little boats. The female flowers stay attached on long stems and open on the water surface. Male flowers are then drawn to the females as the water surface is depressed by surface tension around the females. 8. Basal Angiosperms (water lilies such as Nymphaea, Brasenia, Nuphar) because they like leftover dinosaurs from the deep evolutionary past of the flowering plants. 9. Buzz pollination plants like shooting star (Dodecatheon) and Melestoma because they are also cool. Steve Buckman did an awesome analysis of that demonstrated the physics of pollen ejection from the anthers and then electrostatic charges that sicks the pollen to the pollinator's body. 10. Gnetum, which is classified as a Gymnosperm but is really a transitional group because they have double fertilization that is more like the Angiosperms. Some species are also used as herbal remedies in China. 11. Wild ginger (Asarum) because they are one of the only plants that is (might be) ant pollinated. 12. Touch-me-not (jewel weed - Impatiens) and other plants with projectile seed dispersal. Yeah, and there are plenty of others, but there are a few I can think of right off. Mitch Cruzan On 8/15/2011 4:25 PM, Benjamin Blonder wrote: Hi everyone, I'm about to embark on a middle school teaching project where students will learn about a really odd species of plant - they'll investigate its natural history, adaptation, etc., then make a presentation to the class on their findings. I'd like your help with the names of some of your favorite weird plants - especially charismatic ones are particularly welcome. I'm hoping to have a list of about 50 in the end. Some examples of the kinds of plants I'm imagining: Welwitschia, Amorphophallus, Nepenthes, Hura... Once enough suggestions come in, I'd be pleased to summarize the names to the list. Thanks! Benjamin Blonder University of Arizona
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Suggestions wanted: world's weirdest plants
Hi there, I'd have to go for stone plants, Lithops. They would make a great middle school project due to fascinating adaptation and hardiness. Cheers, Sadie On Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 7:25 PM, Benjamin Blonder bblon...@email.arizona.edu wrote: Hi everyone, I'm about to embark on a middle school teaching project where students will learn about a really odd species of plant - they'll investigate its natural history, adaptation, etc., then make a presentation to the class on their findings. I'd like your help with the names of some of your favorite weird plants - especially charismatic ones are particularly welcome. I'm hoping to have a list of about 50 in the end. Some examples of the kinds of plants I'm imagining: Welwitschia, Amorphophallus, Nepenthes, Hura... Once enough suggestions come in, I'd be pleased to summarize the names to the list. Thanks! Benjamin Blonder University of Arizona -- Sadie Jane Ryan Assistant Professor Dept of Environmental and Forest Biology SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Syracuse, NY http://www.esf.edu/EFB/faculty/ryan.htm
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Suggestions wanted: world's weirdest plants
here is a very weird plant http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triffid picture: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=day+of+the+triffidsum=1hl=ensa=Nbiw=1195bih=453tbm=ischtbnid=E-tSFZAMRouWeM:imgrefurl=http://blackholereviews.blogspot.com/2005/11/day-of-triffids-1967-deleted-scenes.htmldocid=0UFhjVezT7SpyMw=862h=638ei=eHlKTs_LHqL40gG7w6nrBwzoom=1iact=rcdur=630page=8tbnh=129tbnw=194start=76ndsp=13ved=1t:429,r:1,s:76tx=133ty=71 Here is another one... http://www.examiner.com/movie-events-in-salt-lake-city/the-thing-from-another-world-31-days-of-horror Ok, so they are not REAL plantsbut they sure are weird! Leave it to someone who likes old mind-numbing sci-fi Malcolm On Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 6:25 PM, Benjamin Blonder bblon...@email.arizona.edu wrote: Hi everyone, I'm about to embark on a middle school teaching project where students will learn about a really odd species of plant - they'll investigate its natural history, adaptation, etc., then make a presentation to the class on their findings. I'd like your help with the names of some of your favorite weird plants - especially charismatic ones are particularly welcome. I'm hoping to have a list of about 50 in the end. Some examples of the kinds of plants I'm imagining: Welwitschia, Amorphophallus, Nepenthes, Hura... Once enough suggestions come in, I'd be pleased to summarize the names to the list. Thanks! Benjamin Blonder University of Arizona -- Malcolm L. McCallum Oceania University of Medicine Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive - Allan Nation 1880's: There's lots of good fish in the sea W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Suggestions wanted: world's weirdest plants
Drosera sp. (Sun Dews) are pretty cool and weird, as are most carnivorous plants. I have a short video on a desiccation tolerant fern I studied a while back ( *Mohria caffrorum*). Stop-motion of it resurrecting. Looks pretty cool! Coco de mer (I think that's the spelling). Coconut type plant with huge seeds that look like 'private parts'. Kids will love it ;) Will let you know if any others come to mind. Stefan On 16 August 2011 16:10, malcolm McCallum malcolm.mccal...@herpconbio.orgwrote: here is a very weird plant http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triffid picture: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=day+of+the+triffidsum=1hl=ensa=Nbiw=1195bih=453tbm=ischtbnid=E-tSFZAMRouWeM:imgrefurl=http://blackholereviews.blogspot.com/2005/11/day-of-triffids-1967-deleted-scenes.htmldocid=0UFhjVezT7SpyMw=862h=638ei=eHlKTs_LHqL40gG7w6nrBwzoom=1iact=rcdur=630page=8tbnh=129tbnw=194start=76ndsp=13ved=1t:429,r:1,s:76tx=133ty=71 Here is another one... http://www.examiner.com/movie-events-in-salt-lake-city/the-thing-from-another-world-31-days-of-horror Ok, so they are not REAL plantsbut they sure are weird! Leave it to someone who likes old mind-numbing sci-fi Malcolm On Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 6:25 PM, Benjamin Blonder bblon...@email.arizona.edu wrote: Hi everyone, I'm about to embark on a middle school teaching project where students will learn about a really odd species of plant - they'll investigate its natural history, adaptation, etc., then make a presentation to the class on their findings. I'd like your help with the names of some of your favorite weird plants - especially charismatic ones are particularly welcome. I'm hoping to have a list of about 50 in the end. Some examples of the kinds of plants I'm imagining: Welwitschia, Amorphophallus, Nepenthes, Hura... Once enough suggestions come in, I'd be pleased to summarize the names to the list. Thanks! Benjamin Blonder University of Arizona -- Malcolm L. McCallum Oceania University of Medicine Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive - Allan Nation 1880's: There's lots of good fish in the sea W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Suggestions wanted: world's weirdest plants
Skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, creates heat and melts the snow around it in early spring. It smells like rotting meat to attract the flies that pollinate it. -Kathleen On Aug 16 2011, Judith S. Weis wrote: Venus fly traps would definitely appeal to middle school kids. I nominate: 1. Trigger plants (Stylidiaceae - Australia). They slap pollinators with their reproductive parts to effect pollination. 2. Resurrection plant (Selaginella)- desert species and eastern epiphytes. Yes, they look dead until you add water. 3. Epiphytic Bromeliads (in general) because they are so obviously cool. 4. Rafflesiaceae includes one of the worlds largest (Rafflesia arnoldii) and smallest (Pilostyles thurberi) flowers (The second one is a plant that lives entirely inside the stems of desert shrubs - except for the flowers). 5. Ophrys speculum orchids for their pseudocopulation pollination system. 6. Marine flowering plants like Zostera and Thallasia (sea grass) because they represent weird evolutionary transitions back to the ocean, they are some of the only plants that flower and are pollinated completely under water, and they have some of the largest pollen grains (long, thread-like). 7. Vallisneria seems like an ordinary aquatic plant, but it has a weird pollination system where male flowers break off and float on the water surface like little boats. The female flowers stay attached on long stems and open on the water surface. Male flowers are then drawn to the females as the water surface is depressed by surface tension around the females. 8. Basal Angiosperms (water lilies such as Nymphaea, Brasenia, Nuphar) because they like leftover dinosaurs from the deep evolutionary past of the flowering plants. 9. Buzz pollination plants like shooting star (Dodecatheon) and Melestoma because they are also cool. Steve Buckman did an awesome analysis of that demonstrated the physics of pollen ejection from the anthers and then electrostatic charges that sicks the pollen to the pollinator's body. 10. Gnetum, which is classified as a Gymnosperm but is really a transitional group because they have double fertilization that is more like the Angiosperms. Some species are also used as herbal remedies in China. 11. Wild ginger (Asarum) because they are one of the only plants that is (might be) ant pollinated. 12. Touch-me-not (jewel weed - Impatiens) and other plants with projectile seed dispersal. Yeah, and there are plenty of others, but there are a few I can think of right off. Mitch Cruzan On 8/15/2011 4:25 PM, Benjamin Blonder wrote: Hi everyone, I'm about to embark on a middle school teaching project where students will learn about a really odd species of plant - they'll investigate its natural history, adaptation, etc., then make a presentation to the class on their findings. I'd like your help with the names of some of your favorite weird plants - especially charismatic ones are particularly welcome. I'm hoping to have a list of about 50 in the end. Some examples of the kinds of plants I'm imagining: Welwitschia, Amorphophallus, Nepenthes, Hura... Once enough suggestions come in, I'd be pleased to summarize the names to the list. Thanks! Benjamin Blonder University of Arizona
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Suggestions wanted: world's weirdest plants
Try stone plants: http://www.botany.org/planttalkingpoints/stone.htm Kathleen Knight wrote: Skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, creates heat and melts the snow around it in early spring. It smells like rotting meat to attract the flies that pollinate it. -Kathleen On Aug 16 2011, Judith S. Weis wrote: Venus fly traps would definitely appeal to middle school kids. I nominate: 1. Trigger plants (Stylidiaceae - Australia). They slap pollinators with their reproductive parts to effect pollination. 2. Resurrection plant (Selaginella)- desert species and eastern epiphytes. Yes, they look dead until you add water. 3. Epiphytic Bromeliads (in general) because they are so obviously cool. 4. Rafflesiaceae includes one of the worlds largest (Rafflesia arnoldii) and smallest (Pilostyles thurberi) flowers (The second one is a plant that lives entirely inside the stems of desert shrubs - except for the flowers). 5. Ophrys speculum orchids for their pseudocopulation pollination system. 6. Marine flowering plants like Zostera and Thallasia (sea grass) because they represent weird evolutionary transitions back to the ocean, they are some of the only plants that flower and are pollinated completely under water, and they have some of the largest pollen grains (long, thread-like). 7. Vallisneria seems like an ordinary aquatic plant, but it has a weird pollination system where male flowers break off and float on the water surface like little boats. The female flowers stay attached on long stems and open on the water surface. Male flowers are then drawn to the females as the water surface is depressed by surface tension around the females. 8. Basal Angiosperms (water lilies such as Nymphaea, Brasenia, Nuphar) because they like leftover dinosaurs from the deep evolutionary past of the flowering plants. 9. Buzz pollination plants like shooting star (Dodecatheon) and Melestoma because they are also cool. Steve Buckman did an awesome analysis of that demonstrated the physics of pollen ejection from the anthers and then electrostatic charges that sicks the pollen to the pollinator's body. 10. Gnetum, which is classified as a Gymnosperm but is really a transitional group because they have double fertilization that is more like the Angiosperms. Some species are also used as herbal remedies in China. 11. Wild ginger (Asarum) because they are one of the only plants that is (might be) ant pollinated. 12. Touch-me-not (jewel weed - Impatiens) and other plants with projectile seed dispersal. Yeah, and there are plenty of others, but there are a few I can think of right off. Mitch Cruzan On 8/15/2011 4:25 PM, Benjamin Blonder wrote: Hi everyone, I'm about to embark on a middle school teaching project where students will learn about a really odd species of plant - they'll investigate its natural history, adaptation, etc., then make a presentation to the class on their findings. I'd like your help with the names of some of your favorite weird plants - especially charismatic ones are particularly welcome. I'm hoping to have a list of about 50 in the end. Some examples of the kinds of plants I'm imagining: Welwitschia, Amorphophallus, Nepenthes, Hura... Once enough suggestions come in, I'd be pleased to summarize the names to the list. Thanks! Benjamin Blonder University of Arizona
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Suggestions wanted: world's weirdest plants
If I may have another go at it: 1. How about the duckweeds, especially *Wolfia*, because it is so small and featureless (like grains of sand). 2. Bladderworts, because of the neat way they trap arthropods, and because they have aquatic and terrestrial species. 3. The aquatic floating ferns, like *Azolla*,* Marsilea*, and *Salvinia*, because most of us don't think of ferns as aquatic 4. *Riccia*, the floating OR terrestrial liverwort 5. The various marginal aquatic/marsh plants, whose leaves take on wildly different forms depending on whether they are below the water surface, at the surface, or above the water level Another area to consider is taxons that have unusual diversity, such as: 1. The genus *Cornus*, which has the small woody dogwood tree and the herbacious bunchberry. 2. The palms, which have at least one species that is a mangrove and one that is a vine. 3. Common cabbage, a single species whose cultivars include such diversity as collards, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, and kohl rabi. I find it interesting that these very different physical forms can be achieved just by tweaking a few genes that regulate the growth processes. Martin M. Meiss 2011/8/16 Kathleen Knight laca0...@umn.edu Skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, creates heat and melts the snow around it in early spring. It smells like rotting meat to attract the flies that pollinate it. -Kathleen On Aug 16 2011, Judith S. Weis wrote: Venus fly traps would definitely appeal to middle school kids. I nominate: 1. Trigger plants (Stylidiaceae - Australia). They slap pollinators with their reproductive parts to effect pollination. 2. Resurrection plant (Selaginella)- desert species and eastern epiphytes. Yes, they look dead until you add water. 3. Epiphytic Bromeliads (in general) because they are so obviously cool. 4. Rafflesiaceae includes one of the worlds largest (Rafflesia arnoldii) and smallest (Pilostyles thurberi) flowers (The second one is a plant that lives entirely inside the stems of desert shrubs - except for the flowers). 5. Ophrys speculum orchids for their pseudocopulation pollination system. 6. Marine flowering plants like Zostera and Thallasia (sea grass) because they represent weird evolutionary transitions back to the ocean, they are some of the only plants that flower and are pollinated completely under water, and they have some of the largest pollen grains (long, thread-like). 7. Vallisneria seems like an ordinary aquatic plant, but it has a weird pollination system where male flowers break off and float on the water surface like little boats. The female flowers stay attached on long stems and open on the water surface. Male flowers are then drawn to the females as the water surface is depressed by surface tension around the females. 8. Basal Angiosperms (water lilies such as Nymphaea, Brasenia, Nuphar) because they like leftover dinosaurs from the deep evolutionary past of the flowering plants. 9. Buzz pollination plants like shooting star (Dodecatheon) and Melestoma because they are also cool. Steve Buckman did an awesome analysis of that demonstrated the physics of pollen ejection from the anthers and then electrostatic charges that sicks the pollen to the pollinator's body. 10. Gnetum, which is classified as a Gymnosperm but is really a transitional group because they have double fertilization that is more like the Angiosperms. Some species are also used as herbal remedies in China. 11. Wild ginger (Asarum) because they are one of the only plants that is (might be) ant pollinated. 12. Touch-me-not (jewel weed - Impatiens) and other plants with projectile seed dispersal. Yeah, and there are plenty of others, but there are a few I can think of right off. Mitch Cruzan On 8/15/2011 4:25 PM, Benjamin Blonder wrote: Hi everyone, I'm about to embark on a middle school teaching project where students will learn about a really odd species of plant - they'll investigate its natural history, adaptation, etc., then make a presentation to the class on their findings. I'd like your help with the names of some of your favorite weird plants - especially charismatic ones are particularly welcome. I'm hoping to have a list of about 50 in the end. Some examples of the kinds of plants I'm imagining: Welwitschia, Amorphophallus, Nepenthes, Hura... Once enough suggestions come in, I'd be pleased to summarize the names to the list. Thanks! Benjamin Blonder University of Arizona
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Suggestions wanted: world's weirdest plants
I sent this list privately to Benjamin, but realized others might be interested: http://images.google.com/search?q=Bursera+microphyllabiw=1015bih=569tbm=isch http://www.loscabosinsider.com/cabo-life/plants-animals-baja/insider_boojum.htm http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SELE2 http://www.americansouthwest.net/texas/big_bend/living-rock-cactus_l.html http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/orchids-mimic-alarm-pheromone s-of-bees-to-attract-wasps/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuscuta http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq5980.html http://www.botany.org/Parasitic_Plants/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strangler_fig Another one I'll add, and being residents of Arizona the students might find this particularly interesting, the leafy members of the cactus family in S. America. mcneely Martin Meiss mme...@gmail.com wrote: If I may have another go at it: 1. How about the duckweeds, especially *Wolfia*, because it is so small and featureless (like grains of sand). 2. Bladderworts, because of the neat way they trap arthropods, and because they have aquatic and terrestrial species. 3. The aquatic floating ferns, like *Azolla*,* Marsilea*, and *Salvinia*, because most of us don't think of ferns as aquatic 4. *Riccia*, the floating OR terrestrial liverwort 5. The various marginal aquatic/marsh plants, whose leaves take on wildly different forms depending on whether they are below the water surface, at the surface, or above the water level Another area to consider is taxons that have unusual diversity, such as: 1. The genus *Cornus*, which has the small woody dogwood tree and the herbacious bunchberry. 2. The palms, which have at least one species that is a mangrove and one that is a vine. 3. Common cabbage, a single species whose cultivars include such diversity as collards, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, and kohl rabi. I find it interesting that these very different physical forms can be achieved just by tweaking a few genes that regulate the growth processes. Martin M. Meiss 2011/8/16 Kathleen Knight laca0...@umn.edu Skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, creates heat and melts the snow around it in early spring. It smells like rotting meat to attract the flies that pollinate it. -Kathleen On Aug 16 2011, Judith S. Weis wrote: Venus fly traps would definitely appeal to middle school kids. I nominate: 1. Trigger plants (Stylidiaceae - Australia). They slap pollinators with their reproductive parts to effect pollination. 2. Resurrection plant (Selaginella)- desert species and eastern epiphytes. Yes, they look dead until you add water. 3. Epiphytic Bromeliads (in general) because they are so obviously cool. 4. Rafflesiaceae includes one of the worlds largest (Rafflesia arnoldii) and smallest (Pilostyles thurberi) flowers (The second one is a plant that lives entirely inside the stems of desert shrubs - except for the flowers). 5. Ophrys speculum orchids for their pseudocopulation pollination system. 6. Marine flowering plants like Zostera and Thallasia (sea grass) because they represent weird evolutionary transitions back to the ocean, they are some of the only plants that flower and are pollinated completely under water, and they have some of the largest pollen grains (long, thread-like). 7. Vallisneria seems like an ordinary aquatic plant, but it has a weird pollination system where male flowers break off and float on the water surface like little boats. The female flowers stay attached on long stems and open on the water surface. Male flowers are then drawn to the females as the water surface is depressed by surface tension around the females. 8. Basal Angiosperms (water lilies such as Nymphaea, Brasenia, Nuphar) because they like leftover dinosaurs from the deep evolutionary past of the flowering plants. 9. Buzz pollination plants like shooting star (Dodecatheon) and Melestoma because they are also cool. Steve Buckman did an awesome analysis of that demonstrated the physics of pollen ejection from the anthers and then electrostatic charges that sicks the pollen to the pollinator's body. 10. Gnetum, which is classified as a Gymnosperm but is really a transitional group because they have double fertilization that is more like the Angiosperms. Some species are also used as herbal remedies in China. 11. Wild ginger (Asarum) because they are one of the only plants that is (might be) ant pollinated. 12. Touch-me-not (jewel weed - Impatiens) and other plants with projectile seed dispersal. Yeah, and there are plenty of others, but there are a few I can think of right off. Mitch Cruzan On 8/15/2011 4:25 PM, Benjamin Blonder wrote: Hi everyone, I'm about to embark on a middle school teaching project where students will learn about a really odd species of plant - they'll investigate its
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Suggestions wanted: world's weirdest plants
I think Pitcher Plants that grow in bogs are pretty interesting; the way they capture water. That might interest the kids, they are odd, compared to regular plants they're probably familiar with. Mark On Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 7:25 PM, Benjamin Blonder bblon...@email.arizona.edu wrote: Hi everyone, I'm about to embark on a middle school teaching project where students will learn about a really odd species of plant - they'll investigate its natural history, adaptation, etc., then make a presentation to the class on their findings. I'd like your help with the names of some of your favorite weird plants - especially charismatic ones are particularly welcome. I'm hoping to have a list of about 50 in the end. Some examples of the kinds of plants I'm imagining: Welwitschia, Amorphophallus, Nepenthes, Hura... Once enough suggestions come in, I'd be pleased to summarize the names to the list. Thanks! Benjamin Blonder University of Arizona
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Suggestions wanted: world's weirdest plants
Here's the list of notable species (weird, big, small, edible, parasitic etc) I developed for my botany course a few years ago. I gave only the genus and species and let the students figure out what they were. Steve Acacia cornigera Adenanthera pavonina Adansonia digitata Aldrovanda vesiculos Amorphophallus titanum Angraecum sesquipedale Araucaria araucana Astragalus bisulcatus Brosimum alicastrum Cuscuta Datura wrightii Dendroseris neriifolia Dionaea muscipula Dracunculus vulgaris Drakaea glyptodon Elaeocarpus bojeri Entada gigas Eucalyptus deglupta Ficus benghalensis Hydnora africana Lithops Lophophora williamsii Merremia discoidesperma Monotropa uniflora Nepenthes alata Piper nigrum Pseudotsuga menziesii Rafflesia arnoldii Sarracenea flava Selaginella lepidophylla Symplocarpus foetidus Tillandsia recurvata Utricularia Vanilla fragrans Welwitschia mirabilis Wolffia angusta
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Suggestions wanted: world's weirdest plants
Seriously, the Indian Pipeno chlorophyll! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotropa_uniflora On Tue, Aug 16, 2011 at 9:10 AM, malcolm McCallum malcolm.mccal...@herpconbio.org wrote: here is a very weird plant http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triffid picture: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=day+of+the+triffidsum=1hl=ensa=Nbiw=1195bih=453tbm=ischtbnid=E-tSFZAMRouWeM:imgrefurl=http://blackholereviews.blogspot.com/2005/11/day-of-triffids-1967-deleted-scenes.htmldocid=0UFhjVezT7SpyMw=862h=638ei=eHlKTs_LHqL40gG7w6nrBwzoom=1iact=rcdur=630page=8tbnh=129tbnw=194start=76ndsp=13ved=1t:429,r:1,s:76tx=133ty=71 Here is another one... http://www.examiner.com/movie-events-in-salt-lake-city/the-thing-from-another-world-31-days-of-horror Ok, so they are not REAL plantsbut they sure are weird! Leave it to someone who likes old mind-numbing sci-fi Malcolm On Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 6:25 PM, Benjamin Blonder bblon...@email.arizona.edu wrote: Hi everyone, I'm about to embark on a middle school teaching project where students will learn about a really odd species of plant - they'll investigate its natural history, adaptation, etc., then make a presentation to the class on their findings. I'd like your help with the names of some of your favorite weird plants - especially charismatic ones are particularly welcome. I'm hoping to have a list of about 50 in the end. Some examples of the kinds of plants I'm imagining: Welwitschia, Amorphophallus, Nepenthes, Hura... Once enough suggestions come in, I'd be pleased to summarize the names to the list. Thanks! Benjamin Blonder University of Arizona -- Malcolm L. McCallum Oceania University of Medicine Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive - Allan Nation 1880's: There's lots of good fish in the sea W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. -- Malcolm L. McCallum Oceania University of Medicine Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive - Allan Nation 1880's: There's lots of good fish in the sea W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
[ECOLOG-L] Suggestions wanted: world's weirdest plants
Hi everyone, I'm about to embark on a middle school teaching project where students will learn about a really odd species of plant - they'll investigate its natural history, adaptation, etc., then make a presentation to the class on their findings. I'd like your help with the names of some of your favorite weird plants - especially charismatic ones are particularly welcome. I'm hoping to have a list of about 50 in the end. Some examples of the kinds of plants I'm imagining: Welwitschia, Amorphophallus, Nepenthes, Hura... Once enough suggestions come in, I'd be pleased to summarize the names to the list. Thanks! Benjamin Blonder University of Arizona
