Week 4: Succession

Week 3: Landscapes

Hello Class,

We are going to be switching focus in the next few weeks. We will be talking more about landscapes and biogeography, rather than just focusing on individual plants as we have been. So for this week I would like for you all to write about a particular natural landscape that stands out in your mind as being important, or having been memorable to you. Please describe the vegetation and any sensory experiences of this location.

I will begin. I worked for a while in the Mojave Desert in Southern California. The desert was so much vastly different from the Southeastern deciduous forests where I grew up. The Mojave is barren, filled with rocks and sand and shrubby vegetation. Unblocked by trees, the sky stretched from horizon to horizon. The Mojave is covered with a small shrub called creosote. Creosote bushes are small, shrubby, spindly things that smelled sweet and powerful after a rain. Between the creosote shrubs, the bunches of tuft grasses, and the succulent cacti grew the icons of the Mojave- the Joshua tree. Joshua trees are different from all the trees I knew. Joshua trees are spiny, sparse tree-like monocots. They are the only thing that grows above 5 feet in the desert, and dot the otherwise barren landscape. Between vicious winds, sparse vegetation, and extreme temperature fluctuations the desert is a hard landscape to like. It took me a while, but I came to enjoy to huge vistas and defiant Joshua trees.  

Week 2: Favorite Plant

Hello Everyone,

For our second blog posting I would like to tell me about your favorite plant. I would like for you to include:

-          Common name

-          Plant Family

-          Scientific name

-          Botanical description including: Where the plant is found (range), growth form, growth habit, flower morphology, leaf morphology, fruit morphology. 

-          Plant Family description including: Family characteristics. 

-          Picture of the plant. You can link to an image, or upload a picture and share it with a photo sharing site. 

I will demonstrate by describing my favorite. My favorite plant is the Live Oak tree. 

Common name: Southern Live Oak

Plant Family: Fagaceae

Scientific Name: Quercus virginiana Miller

Botanical description: Live oaks are found in sandy soil in the southern coastal plain of the United States. Live oaks are medium sized evergreen trees with wide-spreading branches. Leaves are dark green, coriaceous (leathery) – thick, dark and shiny. Leaves are oblong to elliptic, mostly 4-6 cm long. Live oaks are monecious. Flowers are small and borne on catkins (cylindrical flower cluster). Fruit of the live oak are acorns. Acorns are around 2 cm long, with a turban-shaped cup. Acorns are borne singly or in clusters of 2-5. Live oaks are often found with lots of Spanish moss growing on their branches. 

Family description: Plants in the Fagaceae family are monecious trees or shrubs. Leaves are simple, alternate, entire or lobed. Staminate flowers are borne on axillary catkins. Female flowers have 3 styles. The fruit is a nut enclosed or partially enclosed in a cup. This family includes chestnuts, beeches and oaks. 

Check out some pictures I took recently of the ‘Angel Oak’ a huge live oak near Charleston, SC - http://imgur.com/a/DKgPJ

I suggest using the USDA plants website as a starting point (plants.usda.gov/).

Welcome!

Hello Everyone, and Welcome to Ethnobotany 

I am excited for this new semester, and even more excited for the coming of Spring. I love Spring in Athens - when the weather warms up. I like seeing the small green buds form on deciduous trees as they emerge from winter dormancy. The bare skeletons of all the big oak trees around here fill with thick green leaves. It always happens so quickly, and all of a sudden I am surrounded by silky white dogwood flowers, blooming pink azaleas, and the familiar buzz of bees doing their pollinating. Spring happens fast here, so it is nice to stop and notice all the changes before the oppressive heat and humidity of summer in The South takes over.

Our class is going to focus a lot on plants and culture, but along with more knowledge we hope to give students a better appreciation and understanding of the natural world. So, we are going to ask you guys to select a Sit Spot for this semester and write about it as we progress into Spring.  

What is a Sit Spot? A Sit Spot is a quit, natural spot where you will be silent and notice all the things around you – trees, grass, weeds, bugs, squirrels, bird calls. It can be in your back yard, or Memorial Park, or a quiet place on campus. You will sit there and observe the world for about 10-15 minutes. You will do this every few days, or maybe once a week in the same spot. And occasionally on this blog we will ask you to write about it and how it changes with the seasons.

So for this week I would like you to choose a spot and tell us about it. Please describe what you see – and if you wish to post a picture or a drawing of the spot that would be awesome too. Please post in the comments section.

-Sam