K. Buell

Bad Plant: Floating Fern (Salvinia molesta)

My bad plant is the floating fern. It’s scientific name is Salvinia molesta. It was originally found in South America. It is in phylum Hydropteridale. In the last half of the twentieth century the floating fern spread widely throughout the tropics and subtropics. It forms dense mats over lakes and slow moving rivers and causes large economic losses and a wide range of ecological problems to native species and communities. Mats of these ferns impede access to and use of waterways for commercial and recreational purposes and mats reduce habitats for game birds, limit access to fishing areas, and probably alter fisheries. These ferns can clog water intakes and interfere with agricultural irrigation, water supply, and electrical generation. It’s a vector for human disease with serious consequences. The harm from these fern mats to fisheries also can be very significant to communities dependent on fish for local consumption (sometimes as the main source of protein) or in areas where fish sales are the main source of cash income. Usually, these mats form a single layer over water, but with continued growth the mats become multi-layered and can reach up to 1 meter in thickness. Thick mats support other colonizing plants, and the mass and stability of these mats make them difficult to destroy. Plants and animals dependent on open water to gain sunlight, oxygen, and space for sustenance and growth, or for landing, fishing, nest building, or mating, are displaced by dense fern mats. Water under mats of salvinia has a lower oxygen concentration (due to reduced surface area of water available to oxygen). Through high growth rates and slow decomposition rates, floating ferns reduce the concentration of nutrients that would otherwise be available to primary producers and organisms that depend on them. Floating ferns provide ideal habitat for Mansonia mosquitoes, a principal vector of rural elephantiasis, and for other mosquito species involved in the transmission of encephalitis, dengue fever, and malaria. Losses include paddy rice, fishing, power generation, transportation of goods or people, washing, and bathing. Total costs associated with these ferns were estimated to be between 24.7 million and 56.7 million rupees for 1987. This information was used to determine the benefits from biological control over the following 25 years. This plant was an invasive species to Australia.

Good Plant: Celery (Apium graveolens)

My good plant is celery. The scientific name is Apium graveolens. It was first found in Egypt. It’s phylum is Magnoliophyta. Usually, celery is used in making salads, spicing up foods containing meat, and can be added to any food as a side with a dip. The roots, leaves, and seeds are used for therapeutic purposes in treating and preventing diseases. It has been used as far back as Ancient Greece when it was highly valued for its properties as an aphrodisiac as well as its medicinal properties. Celery was also used as a decorative herb by the Romans, who used the leaves for their "Winner's Crown". In traditional medicine celery was used to eliminate intestinal parasites. Chinese medicine recommended celery to be used as a medicine to treat high blood pressure due to its stabilizing components. This plant initially grew on humid grounds of Europe and Asia, until the beginning of the 19th century when celery began to be grown in the United States. Nowadays this vegetable is more commonly used in foods, due to the richness of its taste. It is useful in stomach illnesses, rheumatism, obesity and diseases of the urinary bladder. Celery keeps treats naturally at its best when it is consumed raw. When used as either a snack or as medicine, celery detoxifies the body, stimulates the nervous system and mineralizes the body. One hundred grams of celery has an energetic value equal to 18 calories and contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, C, E, K, PP and minerals such as iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc which have been known to stop oncological diseases from progressing. Vitamin C contained by celery strengthens the immunologic system and at the same time makes the body more resistant against new diseases. Celery is effective in alleviating the effects of anemia. Individuals with high cholesterol should add celery to their diets and is also effective for those who have lack of food appetite.

Citations
Celery Herb Health Benefits of Celery." Plants Medical Plants Medicinal Plants Medicinal Herbs. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. www.liveandfeel.com/medicinalplants/celery.html

"Untitled Page." Invasive Plants Home. Web. 13 Feb. 2012.

www.invasiveplants.net/monitor/2FloatingFern.aspx