Youtan Poluo

 

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The 38 pieces of very small white flowers measuring a diameter of 1mm was found by a Chinese farmer - Mr. Ding - growing in his steel pipes. Youtan Poluo is a legendary flower thought to exist only in the Buddhist scriptures. According to botanical experts, the flower only blooms once every 3000 years.

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According to Indian Myth, the flower only blossoms when the Sage King of the future visits the present world. Youtan Poluo is translated in Sanskrit as "Udumbara" or "Udambara" flower. Similar phenomenon has occurred at Chonggye-sa Temple in Seoul when the flower blossomed on the Buddha statue's forehead.

Nepenthes Tenax

From the species of tropical flesh-eating pitcher plant, the nepenthes tenax has been spotted in the Northern Queensland, Australia. The Nepenthes Tenax can grow a maximum height of 100 cm with vines exceeding to 25 cm high. Nepenthes Tenax is regarded as exceptional specie of pitcher flower since others can only grow at a maximum height of 15 cm.

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N. Tenax is last found only January this year by the ecologist, Charles Clarke, from James Cook University. The plant is found in the northern Cape York. Botanical archeologists believe that this flower can actually consume small rats, mice, lizards and even birds. Botanists predict that the flower will cost around hundreds of U.S dollars per piece if sold in the global black market.

Kadupul Flower

 

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The legendary flower, named Kadupul, is believed to be an offering of Celestial Nagas for Buddha after they bloom. Kadupul flowers emit strange fragrance as it blooms during midnight. Strangely, these flowers immediately die during dawn.

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Seeing Kadupul flower blooms is a very rare experience among those that grow the flower. Kadupul flower is native to Sri Lankan lands but still, the blooming of the flowers has rarely been spotted even by the locals.

Silversword or Ahinahina Plant

 

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The endangered plant since 1922, Ahinahina, exclusively grows only in the alpine regions of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Haleakala. The tough skin of this plant is capable of enduring harsh weather conditions, especially snowy weather and intensive heat of the sun.

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Ahinahina plant is currently being cultivated and protected from external threats due to their threatened population. According to the authorities of Haleakala National Park, silverswords have been endangered by extensive herding and vandalism.

Drosera capensis

Otherwise known as the Cape sundew, Drosera capensis is native to the land of South African cape. Cape Sundew is usually cultivated in the southern capes of Africa due to its insecticidal function. Sundew has its strap-like and beautifully colored tentacles that can grow to a length of 15 cm and 1 cm wide. These tentacles secrete sticky mucous substance called mucilage, which traps insects or other small preys.

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After sensing the creature, the tentacles perform its predatory mechanism, called thigmotropism, in order to trap its prey. Afterwards, the plant digests the prey using its digestive glands. Sundews are now considered endangered due to the increasing temperature as well as the limited growing areas available for their kind.

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Hypnotic in its beauty, but deadly if consumed.  As you may have guessed, this plant is named after the hero of Greek mythology.

Azaleas

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Most harmful if ingested by a dog, azaleas have a soft texture and petals that seem to flow with the wind.  Azalea festivals are held in cities all over North America.

Belladonna

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Also called "deadly nightshade," one of the most toxic plants in the western hemisphere, belladonna is often used as a recreational drug.  The hallucinations produced by belladonna are typically unpleasant, however, and there are occasional unpleasant overdoses.  It is also used for alternative and mainstream medicinal purposes.

Bloodflower

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Its bright, cheerful colors are quite inviting and appropriate as ornamental plants.  Although not healthy for human consumption, bloodflower is a food source for butterflies.

Crown Vetch

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Toxic to horses, but beneficial for cultivating the earth, crown vetch has been named the state beautification plant of Pennsylvania.

False Indigo

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Elegantly shaped, false indigo is not as bad as its name implies.  It has a plethora of medicinal usages, but if consumed in excess, false indigo could induce vomiting or diarrhea.

Henbane

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Also called "stinking nightshade," henbane can be fatal to animals in small doses.  The "hen" part may not necessarily have to do with chickens...

Larkspur

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Western varieties of larkspur are poisonous to cattle, but its delicate petals would have you believe its a faerie in disguise.

Lily of the Valley

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Also known as "Our Lady's tears," lily of the valley looks more like a handle of little bells--serene and inviting.  If untended, however, they can spread like wild fire.

Nightshade

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More generally, nightshade is alsoknown as the potato family; some of these, like eggplant, are edible and others are indeed deadly.

The leaves, seeds, and flowers The young seedlings are poisonous of this gorgeous plant contain causing paralysis, muscle twitching lethal levels of poison that will and are usually fatal to humans and cause irregular heartbeat, delirium, hallucinations and death.

Nerium Oleander Poison Hemlock

The bushes are toxic and the woody stems The leaves contain a simple as well. If digested or touched severe digestive, coniine alkaloid that when and heart trouble will occur. Breathing may also ingested causes stomach pain become difficult as the poison fills the lung area. and paralysis of the central nervous system.

Doll's Eyes

The awkward leaves contain a cardiogenic toxin that slowly paralyzes muscles.

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The indigenous people of the area are concerned with the many threats the rainforest is facing; more than 50% of all original rainforest, which are spread out around the globe have been destroyed. The forests have fell victim to ranching, mining, agriculture, logging and many other destructive practices. Logging is one of the main destructive forces and according to The Nature Conservancy, (2008). “Nearly 50 million acres are harvested yearly.”

It has taken the rainforests several million years to grow into the amazingly complex ecological systems they are today. The forests environments depict a vast hoard of regenerative intrinsic living resources that for thousands of years by distinction of their lavishness in both plant and animal species, have bestowed a wealth of assets for the continuation and benefits of humanity. These assets include essential food replenishment, clothing, shelter, fossil fuel, spices, industrial crude materials and basic medicines for all those that reside in the exalted rainforest.

However, the inner working of a rainforest is a complexes and delicate system. Everything becomes so co-dependent that disturbing any part of it could lead to unrealized damage and destruction of the entire rainforest. Regrettable as it may seem, it has only taken a hundred years of human involvement to upset and destroy that which Mother Nature has designed to remain forever if left alone and undisturbed (Raintree Nutrition, 1996).

The National Geographic (1996-2008) stated, “Vegetation replenishes the atmosphere, by releasing moisture collected by the canopy trees; this process is called transpiration.” “A canopy tree can release as much as 200 gallons of water each year.” The moisture in turn creates a thick dense cloud cover which hangs over the rainforest. This cloud cover even when not raining keeps the forest very moist and warm.

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“The average rainfall in the Amazon Rainforest is nine feet of water each year,” Educational Web Adventure (1996). The vegetation sucks up the water and expels moisture back into the atmosphere; then contributing and bringing water to other parts of the world. Without the trees and canopy the water cannot be collected and expelled back into the atmosphere, causing drought and possibly climatic change throughout the world.

Since the temperatures remain in the high '70s Fahrenheit all year round and it rains nearly every day making this an ideal condition for supporting life. Rainforest species can range from a couple of dozen to several million. The many different types of animals and plants rely on the canopy and ground cover to survive; once the magnificent rainforest is gone they will die (Young,).

The Brazil nut tree is one of the endangered species that can only grow in the rainforest. The tree grows 40-50 meters high and lives to be 500-800 years old. The fruit of this tree, which is a nut, is exported to places all over the world. “The United States alone imports nearly 9 metric ton per year” (Rain Tree, 1996).

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Harvested Brazil nuts.

According to Rain Tree (1996), “The tree does not produce its fruit until it is 30-40 years old. The trees also require a specific species of bee to pollinate the flowers. These combined factors make it highly unsuitable for plantation production.”

The Brazil nut tree is an excellent example of the closely entwined ecosystem of the rainforest. The agouti is the only animal capable of chewing through the fruit pod to release the seeds for new growth. This huge rat like creature can grow very large up to (10 pounds). The tree, agouti and bees are all co-dependent on each other for its survival (Rain Tree, 1996).

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The Rainforest is home to several thousand groups of indigenous people each having its own culture and language. These indigenous people have never ventured out to the modern world and have resided in the Rainforest for several millenniums. Each culture depends on the plants and animals for food and medicines. The children are schooled by people within their families and taught how to survive within the confines of the rainforest. The children often have such an extensive knowledge of the indigenous species of plants and animals, that they are able to teach the scientist that come to research inside the rainforest (Silber & Velton, 1996 revised 2004).

While doing research into tribal medicine in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest, I the author of this thesis was able to learn many new and exciting ways in which to incorporate the properties of the plants found in the rainforest into modern day medicine. During my two year stay I lived with several tribes and each tribe taught and freely shared with me, his or her way of life. Although I was an outsider, the tribe members accepted me into their fold with open hands and hearts (Amazon Shaman, personal conversation, 2001-2003).

One possible solution that came up while in conversation with a tribal shaman concerning the preservation of the Rainforest, would be to make all Rainforest National Parks. This would insure the protection of many indigenous species and the people within the rainforest (Amazon Shaman, personal conversation, 2001-2003).

Once a proper assessment has been reached weighing both the pros and cons of harvesting the Rainforest, then adequate laws can be enacted to protect and properly manage dwindling Rainforest; preservation of our Rainforest can begin.

Indigenous people are now starting to join forces; fighting for his and her rights and through the means of peaceful organized demonstrations are hoping to bring a resolution to this on-going concern. The people residing inside the rainforest realize the importance of taking such action. If no action is taken by the people their land and culture will soon be destroyed and lost forever. By joining forces with these groups everyone can help the people who depend on the majestic rainforest to preserve and insure their way of live for years to come (Silber and Velton, 1996 revised 2004).

If humankind looks at the benefits then humankind stands to gain by protecting the rainforest of the world such as, environment, community resources and personal enjoyment then compare them with that which humankind stand to lose by not taking action, Everyone will agree that the pros outweigh the cons.

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As the pyramids were being built in Egypt those who lived along the Nile treated their water by using a siphoning system. The water would be placed in huge jars which would allow the sediment and mud from the river to settle at the bottom. Beautiful, fresh water would be the siphoned out of the top.

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Although we have a blue planet with around seventy five of it covered by water, a seemingly paltry three percent can be used to drink. People can live without food, if they have to, for more than a month. However, it is impossible to live for much more than a week without any water.

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Such is the importance of water that the bodies and senses become attuned to its proximity and its goodness. An elephant can smell water about four kilometers away. If you put a teaspoon of salt in your dog's water bowl, it will smell the difference and not take the water. Even humans prefer cold water to warm for differences other than pure taste. Warm water is much more likely to have harmful bacteria in it than cold.

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In the Middle Ages people used a lot less water than today. The average person then would use about five gallons a day. Nowadays, in the developed world the average usage is between eighty and a hundred gallons a day. The term "eavesdropper" was coined way back when. The eaves of a house would allow water to drip off the roof without touching the rest of the structure. Someone could hide underneath the eaves and not get wet. The water falling from the roof was called eavesdrop. Of course, being under the eaves meant someone would be right up close to the house, and so able to listen in to what was going on inside. Hence the term "eavesdropper"!

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Of course, we are generally cleaner than people were in the Middle Ages but that does not explain why we use so much more water than they did. However, when you take in to account that a modern toilet flushes away more than two gallons of water each time it is flushed and that a quick shower uses about twenty five, it all adds up. There may be a time in the not too distant future when people will look back on our time as one of unspeakable "luxury" in terms of water wastage. Some already do.

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If you are a practicing Catholic and are tempted to take and drink some holy water from a shrine of a church, reconsider now! Although the water may have curative powers in a strictly religious sense it is also a breeding ground for plenty of harmful germs. Quite often it is still for long periods and, in churches, many hundreds of people may already have dipped their fingers in it.

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There are a number of easy ways to save water without doing a great deal. One of those is to turn off the faucet while you are brushing your teeth. After all, the water is simply going down the plug hole while you brush, so why do it? A typical bathroom faucet can let about two gallons of water every minute flow away. Try putting in the plug while you brush - you may be surprised at the water you are inadvertently wasting!

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The same is true of toilets. Each time you flush that is a couple of gallons down the drain. One simple and safe rule is this! If it's brown, it goes down. If it's yellow, it's mellow. Simply putting down the lid after you have urinated and not flushing it until after a number of consecutive uses can save a huge amount of water. It goes against the grain for many but in the future you may well expect to be charged extra for this waste.

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Deforestation of the planet will cause us massive problems in the future as we depend not only for oxygen on our plant life but also for a large part of the water cycle. For example, an average beech tree will evaporate about seventy gallons of water each day. Think of a large tract of forest cut down and imagine how much water that takes out of the atmosphere. Think of deforestation and lack of replenishment of trees and even a fairly young person can do the math! Scary!

Including the tires it takes about forty thousand gallons of water to manufacture a new car. That's forty thousand gallons of water wasted before the motor vehicle even begins to emit its toxic fumes which further harm the environment.

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Planet earth has only a limited amount of water. That water keeps on going round and round in what is known as "The Water Cycle". If you are drinking a glass of water while you read this, then know that the water in your glass is millions of years older than you effectively! The cycle is quite complicated but can be boiled down in to five words: evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation and collection.

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Evaporation is all to do with the sun. It heats up the water in the oceans (or lakes or rivers - and body of water in fact). The water turns in to vapor or steam. It leaves the body of water and goes in to air in a gaseous state. Water can exist as a gas, a liquid and a solid. Can you think of anything else that can?

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When the water vapor in the air becomes cooler, then it changes back in to liquid and forms clouds. This is what is known as condensation. If you pour a glass of water on a hot day and watch it you will see water form on the outside as the glass. The glass doesn't have any holes - it came from the air around the glass. This is because the glass is much colder than the air around it and when water vapor in the air touches the glass it reverts to its solid state!

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Precipitation happens when so much water has condensed in the air that it is too heavy to be held up any longer. The clouds get heavy and water falls on to the earth. It can fall as rain, sleet, snow or hail depending on temperature and prevailing conditions at the time. So, although most people think of precipitation as rain, it is a little more than that!

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The water that falls back to earth does not have much choice where it is going to end up. It can fall on oceans or rivers or on dry land. When it ends up on the land it soaks in to the earth and becomes the "ground water" that is used for plants to grow and animals to drink. Otherwise, it will run over the soil and collect in to the oceans and other bodies of water. Then the cycle starts all over again!

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Water may be the most common substance found on earth but what we have now is only what we will ever have - and not a drop more! If you were to meet a water molecule and it could talk, it would tell you an interesting history. Even if the molecule only told you about the last one hundred years it would tell you that it spent ninety eight of those in the oceans. It will have spent around only twenty months as ice and about two weeks in lakes and rivers. As for free-wheeling around in the atmosphere, your average water molecule spends only a few days there every one hundred years.

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One trillion tones of water are evaporated by the sun every single day. However, even though this sounds like a huge amount only three percent of water is available to drink. There is a "water crisis" already in the world, which you will hear a lot more about in the future. Mass consumption, pollution and overpopulation are shrinking the amount of water available per person and as such will be a source of conflict in the years to come. What we take for granted now may be something we must ration in the future.

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Over the next twenty years it has been predicted that the water available to people will go down by as much as thirty percent. That is a frightening fact when you consider that at the moment less than half of the human population of the planet has enough fresh water for minimum hygiene standards. A child dies every fifteen seconds through water related diseases that can be fairly easily prevented.

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We can do our bit to conserve water by being careful in the ways we use it. Teaching our children that it is an important resource to be respected and not wasted will be key when it is their turn to take over the responsibility for the planet when they reach adulthood.

The word equation for photosynthesis is:

Carbon Dioxide + Water = (Sunlight) = Glucose + Oxygen

Plants breathe through tiny hole in their leaves called stomata and also lose water through the stomata.

Three factors that influence photosynthesis are:

• Temperature
• Light
• Carbon dioxide

Conditions needed for photosynthesis

Photosynthesis needs:

• chlorophyll
• carbon dioxide
• water
• sunlight energy

Photosynthesis produces:

• glucose
• oxygen

Chlorophyll and light energy both need to be present for photosynthesis to take place.

Fungi gets their nutrients and energy from absorbing materials from their environment. There are 72,000 species name and they have been estimated to be 1,500,000 of them.

Types of Organisms

• Funguses
• Moulds
• Mushrooms
• Yeasts
• Mildews
• Smuts

Animals

Animals digest the food they eat and turn them to energy the process is called respiration . They are also eukaryote which means their body contains a nucleus in their cells. There are 1,326,239 species name and they have been estimated to be 9,812,298 of them.

Types of Organisms

• Sponges
• Worms
• Insects
• Fish
• Amphibians
• Reptiles
• Birds
• Mammals

Plants

Plants makes their food by photosynthesis and also produce energy by respiration. They are also eukaryote which means their body contains a nucleus in their cells. There are 270,000 species name and they have been estimated to be 320,000 of them.

Types of Organisms

• Mosses
• Ferns
• Woody Flowering Plants
• Non-woody Flowering Plants

Monera

Monera is a form of chains or mats. They are prokaryote which mean they don't have a nucleus. Monera absorbs materials in their environment just like a fungi. There are 4,000 species name but they have been estimated to be 1,000,000 of them.

Types of Organisms

• Bacteria
• Blue-green algae
• Spirochetes

Protista

Protista is a large single eukaryote which means it has a nucleus. They are in forms of chain's and colonies. There are 80,000 species named and they have been estimated to be 600,000 of them.

Types of Organisms

• Protozoan
• Algae

Introduction

Nyctanthes arbortristis (Harsingar) is commonly known as Night jasmine as its flowers flower at night time and they fall down in the morning. The stalk of these flowers is of orange color and is used for making dye. Traditionally the fabric to be dyed is steeped in the boiling decoction of stalks of the flower and to make the color fast alum or lemon juice is added to the decoction. The molecule identified for the dyeing property is Nyctanthin (Rastogi and Mehrotra, 2004). Chemical molecules are either soluble in polar solvents or in non polar depending upon the chemical nature of the molecule. In the present work a study was taken up to understand the solubility of the coloring agent in various solvents.

Materials and Methods

Plant sample: Flowers of Nyctanthes arbortristis were collected in the morning time from the medicinal germplasm garden of Regional Plant Resource Centre, Bhubaneswar.

Dye Isolation

Five solvents were used for the isolation of dye, these were namely hexane, methanol, ethyl acetate, distilled water and acetone. 5gms of flowers were put in 200ml beaker with 100ml of the respective solvent. These were sealed and stored at 4 degree Celsius for 7 days. After 7days solvent were evaporated at room temperature except for distilled water which was evaporated by boiling. The stored color pigment was dissolved in 100 ml of water. A 3 by 3 inch cloth was kept for dying in the beakers of pigment isolated using the different solvent for one day. After one day all the cloth pieces were taken out and washed with water and detergent. Photograph of all the clothes were taken and observations were recorded for the fastness of dyed cloth.

Results and Discussion

Methanol was found to be the best solvent followed by ethyl acetate as shown in fig 1 and fig 2. Cloth dyed with the pigment (ethyl acetate) was lighter in shade, this could be due to less amount of pigment isolated, whereas the pigment isolated using methanol gave a darker color and found to be fast as even after washing it didn't loose the color whereas some color was lost from the ethyl acetate derived pigment dyed cloth. Traditionally boiling water was used for isolating the color and fabric was dyed in presence of the mordant.( Gokhale et al, 2004, Zaidi et al, 2003) However, the use of mordant was not taken up in the present study. Methanol as a solvent was found to be better as without the use of a mordant also dye was found to be fast in nature.

Conclusion

Of all the solvents tried, methanol was found to be the best for the isolation of dye from the flower stalks of Nyctanthes arbortristis. It had an added advantage that this can be used for dying the fabric even without the use of mordants.

Once a change had taken place, a new adaptation of Insects had now begun to produce a continuation of life. Insects now start to work together and may look upon similar insects as their own kind so genetics allowed them to mate and as a result, produced another new species. We must remember that this was the beginning of evolution so everything was trial and error, and an insect would not understand the complex mating issue with a similar species until thousands or even millions of years later when a decisive factor enabled them to preserve their own.

The record of sea creatures show the leather back is the largest sea turtle. The heaviest a turtle ever weighed was (590kg) 1,300lbs. The height of the largest Leather back was 6ft (2m). The Leather backs diet is an Omnivore. The Green sea turtle is 300lbs (136kg) and its length is around 3.5ft. (1.07meters). The Green turtles diet is an Herbivore. The Green sea turtles also roam in groups called “Bales”. Did you know? The Green sea turtle cannot put its head in its shell. Hawksbill turtle size is 24-25in weight is 100-150lbs. The diet of the Hawksbill is an Omnivore. Did you know? Young Hawksbill sea turtles are unable to dive deep and spend their early years floating? The Loggerheads weigh 253lbs (115kg) its size is 36in (90cm) average life expectancy in “wild” is 50 years of age. The Logger backs diet is a Carnivore they also travel in groups called “Flotillas”. Did you know? Sea turtles can move through the water at speeds of 15miles (24kl) per hour. The Olive Ridley sea turtles size is 2-2.5ft (62-70cm). Its weight is up to 100lbs (45kg).

The averages of the Olive Ridley are 50 years. Its diet is omnivorous. Did you know? Male Ridley can be distinguished from females by their tails, which stick out beyond their Cara pace. The diet and eating habits of these sea turtles plays a huge role on where they live and why they are in the environment that they are in. Some sea turtles are Carnivores (meat eaters), so therefore they would be in an area with all flesh. Some are Herbivores (plant eaters), so these turtles would be in a place surrounded in plants. Last but not least Omnivores (both plant and meat eaters), they would need to be surrounded in an area with both plants and meat. Green and Black sea turtles have finally serrated jaws adapted for a vegetarian diet of sea grasses and algae.

In adulthood, they are the only Herbivore sea turtles, but in an aquarium environment, they are maintained on a carnivore's diet. Logger heads and Ridley jaws are adapted for crushing and grinding. Their diet consist prime ally of crabs, mollusks, shrimps, jellyfish, and vegetation. A Hawksbill has a narrow head with jaws meeting at an acute angle adapted for getting food from crevices in coral reefs. They eat sponges, tunicates, and squids. Leather backs have delicate scissor like jaws that would be damaged by anything other than normal diet of jellyfish, tunicates, and other soft bodied animals. The mouth is lined with Papillae (spine like projectors) pointed backwards to help swallow soft foods. Researchers continue to study the different types of species that lurk in the seas year by year so be on the lookout for more articles like this.