Plants since the Beginning:

Plants since the Beginning:
Most of my posts so far are just about certain kinds of plants. What certain plants look like, smell like, or sometimes even taste like. I was thinking and I released that there is so much more to plants then meets the eye.

In a way plants a just like humans. Everyone always tells me that no human is the same inside and out. If humans are like that why can't plants. There is no two tree that have the same number of leaves and branches. There is not one sun flower that has the same number of seeds. So humans and plants are in so many ways the same. But, in so many ways different.

Lily pads: more info:

Lily pads: more info:
Lily pads or Nyphaeaceae are a very fascinating species. They are a family of flowering plants and are sometime invasive. Lily pads usally grow in groups. They also don't grow on land. They only grow in the water. There stems extend to the bottom of the lake and a pad floats on top of the water.

Lily pads can be all different sizes. There are big, small, medium, and large lily pads. They flowers that extend from the pad are called water Lilly's. These flowers are very beautiful. They can be many different colors. The most common color that a water lily is, is, white. So, if you see a white flower sitting atop a lily pad it is most likely a water lily.

Lilly Pads:

Lilly Pads:
Over the weekend I went up north the my grandparents cottage on a lake. Well I spent most of my time out in the water tubing, fishing, swimming, or boating I could not help but notice the wide variety of plant the were in, on, and around the lake. The one plant that seemed to stand out the most was the Lilly pad.

The Lilly Pads that I saw seemed to never be alone. Have you ever noticed how where one Lilly pad is others just happen to be there with it? Some even had little white flowers growing on them. The flowers were beautiful.

On Saturday we were boating around the lake when I saw something I had never seem before. Instead of white flowers there were orange ones. They rose high above the water on stems that held them up. Each one was a perfect sphere of a eye popping orange. It was magnificent.

More about the Corpse Flower:

More about the Corpse Flower:
The Amorphophallus Titanium better known as the Corpse flower is a rare plant that only blooms ever 4-20 years. It can grow to be 10ft tall. That is about twice the size of the average male human. The smell of the plant attracts flies and families of beetles to it. These unattractive bugs pollinate the Corpse Flower and are one of the reasons it smells so bad.

The plant is very rare so when one blooms take the chance to go see it. Seeing this magnificent plant is probably a once in a life time opportunity. The Corpse flower also blooms for only 24-36 hours so if you don't see it when you have the chance you will probably have to wait another 20 years. So take that chance and go witness the blooming of the coolest flower ever!

Corpse Flower:

Corpse Flower:
Last week I went to MSU to participate in a program with my Grandparents. Well I was there a very amazing opportunity came up. It just so happend that the rare Corpse flower in which only blooms every 4-20 years at MSU bloomed well I was there. My Grandparents and I took some time off of our busy schedule the day after it bloomed to go and see it!

Of course it only blooms for 24-36 hours. The line was horrible. We decided to come back the next morning after we stood in line for 25 minutes and only moved about 15 ft. The next morning when we went back to the line, it was not nearly as long. We only stood in line for about 5-10 minutes before the most amazing flower I had ever seen caught my eye.

Including the pot and dirt that is stood on it was taller then me! Reaching about 5-5.5 feet in height. I was HUGE! The reason the flower has its name is because of the horrible smell it gives off. It is not that bad until you stick your nose into the blooming part and take a whiff of what smells like dying fish mixed with a dying cow. Giving it the name "Corpse Flower."

What I experienced was about a once in a lifetime experience. It was a wonderful and amazing thing to do. I would love to do it again.

Facts about Poison Ivy:

Facts about Poison Ivy:
Poison Ivy is a plant that belongs to the Cashew Family of plants. It is most likely to be found in the USA, coast to coast in Mexico and Canada. It is also well known in China and the West Indies. Poison Ivy contains a chemical which can cause irritation to the skin and rashes and the place where you were touched by the plant. The chemical covers the entire plant but if you get a poison Ivy rash you most likely got is from the sap of the plant or the leaves the extend from it.

Intro to Poison Ivy:

Poison Ivy or Toxicodendron radicans is a plant that when touched can cause severe itching and rashes on ones skin. Poison Ivy is the nickname of this plant and what most people refer to it as when really it's name is  Toxicodendron radicans. Of course that is much to hard to say so Poison Ivy is most commonly used. Poison Ivy can be identified by the number of leaves it has. Usually a single Poison Ivy stem has 3 leaves. Poison Ivy is also much shinier then other plants because of the grease on it that makes is poison.