Economic Botany Journal

From the scientific journal, Economic Botany, there is an interesting article called, “A new Monstera Species of Economic Importance from Honduras.” This article is written by Alexander P. Karney and Michael H. Grayum. Alexander P. Karney is part of GreenWood and the United States Forest Service. Michael H. Grayum is part of the Missouri Botanical Garden. The topic of discussion in the article is about a type of plant that has gone unnoticed by the scientific world, but has been economically important to the country of Honduras. This plant is cultivated for its roots in order to make commercial products. These products include items such as hats, jewelry, tortillas, keychains, furniture, and baskets. In order to make anything out of the roots, they must be peeled and dried. This plant has now been identified as Monstera maderaverde and is found in forests in Honduras and a couple other countries in Central America such as El Salvador. Some key points mentioned in this article include the fact that the scientific world has not scientifically identified even the most common of plants. The article discusses a specific type of Monstera that is commonly used to make commercial products in many towns across Honduras. The fact that it has been unnoticed for this long is troubling because the species has been on a recent decline because of deforestation. In a study that was taken, scientists used data that was collected from six different cities in Honduras to estimate the maximum extraction (lbs/yr), current extraction, and the current income (USD). This research has helped scientists prove the recent decline in the past few years. For the remaining forests, there is now an economic incentive in preserving them. This article is interesting because it shows that scientists are not perfect. They can make mistakes the same way any human can. It also shows that there are probably many more plants out there that are commonly used that have gone unnoticed. As a result, biological inventories across the world are doing their best to document biodiversity. This article also shows readers the importance of preserving the remaining forests. By protecting these forests, scientists will have a better chance of identifying the remaining species of plants. Also, towns and cities that depend on plants in these forests will continue to have their income and will not have to look for a means of replacement.

Gigapan trees 2

Over the past few weeks, a lot has changed since I last visited my sight for my Gigapan. Again, my Gigapan sight is on a hill above the Upper Lake of the Sweet Briar Camupus. The three trees I have been observing are the Blue Ash, Shumard Oak, and the Chestnut Oak. These trees have changed immensely since last observed. Last time, the trees were full of leaves and were completely green. Now, they are partially filled with leaves and are starting to change colors. The oaks are starting to change to yellow and the Blue Ash is starting to change to red. The trees are also starting to lose their leaves from the top of the tree to the bottom of it. The oaks seemed to change colors a lot faster than the Blue Ash did. Also, the oaks both lost their leaves a lot quicker than the Blue Ash. I think the oaks changed before the Blue Ash because changing to a yellowish color is not as drastic of a change as changing to a redish color. They lost their leaves before the Ash because they changed colors before the Ash.

Gigapan trees 1

For my Gigapan assignment, I will be observing trees by the Upper Lake of Sweet Briar College's campus over the next few weeks. In this area, there are many types of trees including the Blue Ash, Chestnut Oak, and a Shumard Oak. As it gets closer and closer to fall, well actually it is fall already, the leaves on the trees will begin to change colors. Therefore, over the course of the next few weeks I will be observing and blogging about these three species of trees and how they are changing. No one knows exactly why trees change colors in the fall, but most scientists say it involves the glucose intake during photosynthesis. In the trees that change to red and purple, the glucose seems to get trapped after photosynthesis. Also, the cool temperatures of fall cause the glucose to change colors causing the reds and purples that we see. The brown colors of other trees is caused by wastes leftover in the leaves. Other factors of leaf color changing include the length of the nights and the intensity of sunlight. This causes the veins in the leaves to close off while cells form around the base of the leaves. This traps the sugars, such as glucose, inside the leaves causing it to change color. Eventually, this will also cause the leaves to fall off the tree. Some scientists also say that leaf color changing involves the anthocyanin pigments. They say that these pigments is what tints the leaves red, purple, and/or crimson. The yellows and gold colors come from the cartenoids, which are present year-round. Therefore, these colors never actually go away during the year. Right now, each of my three trees have not changed color and are still green.

Corn Currency

As an athlete, I'm prone to looking at food labels of pretty much anything and everything I eat. I look at the calorie amount, protein amount, and the different ingredients put into my food. One particular ingredient that I find on basically everything is some type of corn by-product. Therefore, for my assignment I'm going to be using corn and all of its different by-products as currency. I never realized how many different things can come out of this vegetable. There's popcorn, corn syrup, alcohol, baking powder, waffle and pancake mixes, tortillas, and I even found toothpaste listed on one site. Corn can be used as currency because we already use it for so many other things. This got me imagining a world using corn kernels instead of dollars and coins as currency. The funny thing is, I can actually see myself going to Walmart with a shopping list and giving the clerk a handful of kernels to pay for my groceries. Corn is already a major part of all of our diets, why not make it a part of our everyday life and use it as money as well. Whenever I have to pay for something, I always feel as if I'm just throwing money away. With corn, however, I wouldn't get that feeling because I know it can go to use as something else. Whether it ends up in somebody else's food or toothpaste, I know it is being put to good use. The other great thing about corn is that there is such an abundance of it. There will always be a high demand for corn whether it's by consumers or companies wanting to put it in their products. It can never be harmful to the environment or to humans. It is considered a vegetable so it's beneficial to your health. It is also non-pollutant, therefore, beneficial to the environment. Corn is also greatly accepted by society today because of its benefits and its uses. There wouldn't be a problem with it not being accepted by society as a currency. Corn kernels also last forever, much longer than dollar bills. This is because of their hard exterior. I'm sure everyone has accidently bitten into a kernel when eating popcorn. Instead of your teeth breaking the kernel, the kernel is more likely to break your teeth. Since they are pretty much indestructible by humans, it would be impossible to counterfeit them. Actually, there wouldn't be a need to counterfeit them since there's already an abundance of them. So I propose that we forget about spending hundreds of dollars to print money that is worthless, and use corn and its by-products as a source of currency. The fact that it last longer and its health benefits contribute to its biological value. Also, since we use it in everything and there will always be a need for it contributes to its societal value. All of these facts put together make corn a valuable source of currency.