BTHS Science News
BTHS Science News submitted by teachers and students. Please feel free to leave school appropriate comments.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Note to Students
Thursday, February 16, 2012
P.Mondy
For my bad plant I choose poison oak. It is in the phylum Anthophyta and its scientific name is Toxicodendron diversilobum. Urushiol oil is what causes the rash produced by poison oak. Only 1 nanogram is needed to cause a rash. Just ¼ of an ounce is needed to give every person on the earth a rash. Urushiol can stay alive for 1-5 years on any surface including a dead plant. It is the most common allergy country and effects half the population. Rubbing the rash won’t spread it if you don’t have the urushiol oil on your hands. Poison oak has three leaves, same as poison ivy.
" Poison Ivy, Oak, and Sumac Information Center - (www.poisonivy.us). Web. 16 Feb. 2012.
Feb. 2012.
"Northern Red Oak: Nature Snapshots from Minnesota DNR: Minnesota DNR." Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources: Minnesota DNR. Web. 16 Feb. 2012.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
P.Kinnair
CASTOR PLANT Ricinus CommunisRicnius Castor oil makes up about 50% of the weight of the seeds. Star-shapedleaves can reach 3 feet in length. It Relies on the wind for pollination. it Containvaluable oil. Egyptian tombs indicate that the oil was used in medicine over6,000 years ago. Intact seeds may pass through the digestive tract withoutreleasing ricin. Symptoms of ricin poisoning begin within hours after exposureby ingestion or inhalation. There is no antidote for ricin poisoning. Castor plants are indigenousto the Mediterranean basin, eastern Africa and India. Humans are the most sensitive to theseseeds. It takes 1-4 to kill afull grown human, 11 to kill a dog and 80 seeds to kill a duck. It currently holds theGuinness World Record for most poisonous plant. The cause of death will be dehydration.One raw seed is enoughto kill a human in 2 days. A toxin called ricin is found throughout the plant,Itcauses an agonizing and unstoppable deathVrey, Christine. "Top 10 Plants ThatWill Kill You." Top 10 Lists - Listverse. 2 July 2011. Web. 13 Feb.2012.
Giant
panda BAMBOO
Gelidocalamus fangianus
Anthophyta
Bamboo grew on every continent exceptAntarctica and Europe. It is mostly found in Asia though. There are a lot ofinteresting things about bamboo. It was the first plant to re-green after theatomic blast in Hiroshima in 1945.The bamboo foliage can be up to 22% protein.
A grove of bamboo release 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees.
Ethanol and liquid diesel can be produced using bamboo as the raw material.
Becauseof the strength to weight ratio of bamboo it was used for some of the first
airplane designs. When wet bamboo cables increase in strength by as much as 20%.
Thedevelopment of gunpowder in China included the skin of bamboo. The most common
place for bamboo to grow is in Southeast Asia. Between 1,200 and 1,500 species
of bamboo have been found. Technically a “weed”,. Bamboo can grow up to 4 feet per day. Bamboo has a tensile strength greater than the same size piece of steel.
Bamboo has a very high rate of photosynthesis.
"Where Bamboo Grows." Bamboo Grove - All
Things Bamboo. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.
Bamboo Fact Finder." Home. MagnaRack Corporation. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.
Lewis Bamboo. 3 Dec. 2002. Web. 13 Feb. 2012.
Ann, Mary, and Bert
Silverman. "Totally Useless Facts about Bamboo." Welcome to
MidAtlantic Bamboo. Web. 13 Feb. 2012
S. Tumbleson
T.Atkins
The Northern Red Oak is from the family Fagacea. It is under the phylum name anthophyta. Its scientific name is Quercus rubra its commonly called a northern red oak. It is found in east
Canada and the Midwest US. The Northernred oak can grow potentially from 60-90 feet. The northern red oak is a large hardwood tree that has dark green leaves that turn to rusty orange and various shades of red in the fall. They reproduce from both seeds and root sprouts. They produce acorns. Redoak has light-colored, hard, close-grained wood that is used for a variety of
purposes from fence posts and flooring to furniture. Also used in medicinal uses for digestive
disorders, respiratory diseases, and skin infections. Generally, northern red oak is found on relatively moist sites with deep, rich soils. The tree has a single, lobed leaf with seven to eleven pointed or bristly-tipped lobes. These trees have been known to live 300-500 years. Acorns provide a food source for numerous birds and animals. The twig is red-brown in color, with large, multiple, terminal buds that are covered with scales. The bark develops flat ridges with shallow furrows. The bark is dark gray and sometimes a black color with the furrows being a reddish color. Red oak acorns are larger than any other acorn. This tree is the most widely used oak tree in the world!
"Oak Tree - Types of Oak
Trees." Oak Tree - All About Caring for Oak Trees. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.
"Find Northern Red Oak Trees Red
Oak Tree." About Oak Trees Quercus Species. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.
T.Atkins
Poison sumac is in the phylum anthrophyta. Its scientific name is Toxicodendron vernix, commonly called poison sumac. It is often found in very wet areas of the eastern United States. It is a tree looking plant that can grow to be 30 feet tall. All parts of the plant contain a resin called urushiol that causes skin and mucous membrane irritation to humans. When burned, inhalation of the smoke may cause the rash to appear on the lining of the lungs, causing extreme pain and possibly fatal respiratory difficulty. Poison Sumac is not very common. Really woody and it actually grows into a tree instead of a small plant or shrub like poison ivy and poison oak. The leaves of the plant are smooth. There are no hairs on the stems. 7-9 leaves per stem. This plant is very bad. It only takes 1 nanogram of oil from this plant to cause a rash, and the average human get 100 nanograms of oil every time they come in contact with the plant. All parts of the plant are poisonous, including the bark. Some people are not affected by the plant. According to some people, poison sumac is the most dangerous plant in the United States.
"Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron Vernix)." Home Duke University. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/tove.html.
Untitled Document. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. http://poison-sumac.org/.
K.Ireton
STAR APPLE
Round, baseball sized fruit that when cut has a core that takes on a star shape. Pulp is soft and sweet. The star apple usually comes in two forms, either the dark purple skinned variety with red-purple pulp, or the green skinned variety with clear-white pulp. The star apple is a very popular fruit in many tropical parts of the world.Description: A medium to large sized tree from 25-80ft high. Leaves are very pretty, with a glossy green surface, and a shimmering gold velvety underside.Hardiness: Star apples are tropical, and will not survive more than a couple of degrees of frost.Growing Environment: Young trees are highly susceptible to any kind of frost or cold wind. Trees need balanced watering throughout the year.Propagation: Either by seeds, which take 5-10 years to bear, or by grafting and budding, with trees coming to bear in 2-4 years.Uses: Star apples are eaten fresh. The pulp is usually spooned out as to avoid the bitter tasting rind. The fresh fruit is also often added to salads, drinks, and other dishes.Native Range: Native to tropical America, from the Caribbean through Central America. Is now grown commercially in Central and South America as well as tropical Asia and Africa. Occasionally grown commercially in parts of south Florida.
"Hawaiian Fruit - Star Apple." InstantHawaii - Your Big Island of Hawai'i Information and Activity Portal. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.
BAD
resemble grapes. It is native to eastern North America where it is found in
woods and hedges, but fortunately not commonly. The key to recognizing moonseed
drupes is that they have only one large crescent-shaped seed, while grapes have
many seeds. Birds eat the drupes with no apparent harm, which only shows that it
isn’t always safe to eat what birds eat. These drupes are poisonous, producing
severe abdominal pain and indigestion."Poisonous Plants Moonseed.Moonseed, a deciduous climbing vine, is fairly common throughout North
Carolina in floodplain forests and other moist wooded areas.Drooping panicles of tiny white flowers appear in mid- to late-spring. The leaves and all other parts of the plant are toxic.