Dandelions!

Greetings friends!

I wanted to talk about one of my favorite flowers...DANDELIONS! They are just everywhere! They are such a beautiful yellow, too. Did you know dandelions can tell you the weather? Dandelion flowers close up when it's under 50 degrees. They open when the temperature is above. When you see some open and some close you know it's right around 50. They are so helpful!

Dandelions are a very old organism (genetically speaking), they are thought to have evolved about 30 million years ago! They are genetically prepared for any type of environement they are thrown into. This means that the genetic information that is in the dandelions in youur yard is 30 millions years old!  That's amazing. Most organisms alive today aren't fortunate enough to have won the lottery with their genes. Dandelions are one tough flower!

Here's a picture of me holding a dandelion flower and then a dandelion that has gone to seed. Dandelions are really special because they can reproduce asexually. That means they can basically just clone themselves. That's awesome! No wonder there are so many!

Dandelions are part of the sunflower family. Sometimes its referred to as the Aster family. All members  of this family have developed composit flowers. This means that one flower head is actually comprised of many individual flowers. I pulled apart a dandelion to show you here.

See how there are little green bases in the flower for each whitish - yellow part? If you pulled out on of those little green pods at the bottom of the yelllow you would be pulling out one flower! Since we are talking about little flowers that make up a big flower we call each of those little flowers florets. This may sounds a little confusing so I would recommend going out and pullin a part a dandelion for yourself.

Dandelions are an amazing flower that has stood the test of time. They are so much fun to pick and so much fun to make wishes on! The next time you see a dandelion say "Thanks for being you!"

Until next time my friends,
Eco

Jack in the Pulpit

Greetings!

Spring has sprung! I have been spending everyday outside walking around Eldridge Park. It is beautiful now! Everything is growing and green! On my walk today in our woods I noticed a funny looking plant. I took a picture with it.

This is a Jack in the Pulpit or Arisaema triphyllum.

It is a very noticeable plant. It has three big leaves and a cool middle flower. It looks like a pitcher plant! The hood wraps around and covers the little flower cluster in the center. The hood part is called a spathe (this is the "pulpit" part of the name) and the little hotdog-y looking thing poking out is called a spadix (this is "Jack").

It flowers from April to June. It is fly pollinated. Usually plants that are pollinated by flies don't smell that great to you or I. Even though I rummage through garbage on a nightly basis I still prefer the sweet smell of bee pollinated flowers. 

Jack in the Pulpit is not edible, either. The plant contains a chemical called oxalic acid. This is a chemical that causes a burning feeling when the raw plant is eaten. The Native Americans did use to eat, though. They knew how to prepare it in a way that made the root of the plant safe to eat.  They would use it as a treatment for sore eyes.

I can't wait until our Jack in the Pulpit grows its berries! It has really cool bright red berries. You'll have to come look for it!

Until next time my friends,
Eco

Chinese Mystery Snails!

Hey friends!
I was dipping in the pond at Eldridge yesterday with my friends and we found a bunch of big snails! There's a picture of me next to one! I have never seen a snail that big before! I asked Mr. John and Ms. Beth what they were.  Turns out they are called Chinese Mystery Snails! I thought that sounded like a made up name but that's really what they were called. Their fancy scientific name is Cipangopaludina chinensis malleata. They are an exotic species. That means someone brought them over from Asia and they made themselves at home here in America. They were first brought to San Francisco for the Chinese food markets there in the 1800s. They are eaten in China and other Asian countries because they are delicious and nutritious. (I have never tried one myself, though) Since then, they have gotten into our freshwater systems (all of our water that doesn't have salt in it, like the ocean does) and their population boomed! The females can live up to 5 years and over their lifetime they can have more than 170 babies!

Exotic species (plants and animals that naturally shouldn't be here) can be harmful to the ecosystems they enter. If an exotic species starts to take over spaces native species should be living we call them an invasive species. Chinese mystery snails haven't done a lot of damage to the lakes and ponds and streams they live in. Scientists consider them generally "benign". This means they aren't as bad as say Asian Carp or Buckthorn. Scientists are worried about them because they can carry parasites and diseases that can hurt our native animals. The parasites that they can carry are little flatworms called flukes. These can hurt many different kinds of animals. Not every snail has them, though but we should always be careful and wash our hands if we come in contact with these big snails!

Now you know what they are keep your eyes out for them! They might be coming to a pond or stream near you!!

Until next time my friends!
Eco