… a gelatinous substance that makes them slippery and difficult to handle. So the first question is, what purpose does the slimy coating serve? This is not the kind of blog post where I give you all the answers. That would not be good science … through the digestive tract of an animal and still germinate. Not all seeds can do that. It is possible that in nature, the coating protects the seeds on their journey from the mother plant …
Type: Blog
… and recreation comes from Lake Michigan. If we waste water, then we waste the lake. It is that simple. The Water Conservation Game is set up and ready to play. The girls responded very well to the activity. I am sharing it on … of the Lake Michigan with an image to represent the local water source. (For most cities, that is groundwater.) I discovered, to my surprise, that many of my Brownie Scouts were not familiar …
Type: Blog
… process? And what do all those colorful beer-making terms mean? Malted (germinated) barley is used as a base in beer and scotch. Photo via Finlay McWalter, Wikimedia Commons. GFDL A beautiful vine for the home garden is hops ( Humulus lupulus ), pictured here in flower. Pollinated and fruited in fall, these pale … grains are grasses with a special type of seed called a caryopsis . Inside a caryopsis is an embryo and a large, starchy food reserve (called the endosperm) that plays a key role in …
Type: Blog
… A new collaboration between Garden scientists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is hoping to expand the range of a species once extinct in Illinois. Garden scientists, students, … ( Tetraneuris herbacea ). Plant Biology and Conservation Ph.D. student Rafael Urbina Casanova is working with Garden scientists Drs. Jeremie Fant and Andrea Kramer, and collaborators Jenny … relies on dry, rocky habitat in the Great Lakes region to survive. Unfortunately, this habitat is often quarried, so very little habitat remains available in Illinois,” said Rafael. This …
Type: Research
… Competition is heating up in the western United States. Invasive and native plants are racing to claim … and resources. Alicia Foxx, who studies the interplay of roots of native and invasive plants, is glued to the action. The results of this contest, says the plant biology and conservation … Botanic Garden and Northwestern University, could be difficult to reverse. Cheatgrass, which is an aggressive, invasive plant with a dense root system, is in the lead and spreading quickly …
Type: Blog
… Photo by Bill Bishoff Consider the butterfly’s ability to see ultraviolet light. UV light is a spectrum of light between 10 and 400 nanometers that humans and most other animals cannot … light, and they use these amazing gifts in a variety of clever ways. One well-known phenomenon is the relationship between butterflies and nectar-producing flowers. Thanks to special … These patterns can resemble airport landing strips or helicopter pads, advertising, “The food is in here!” The butterflies easily home in on these markings and land on the flower petals. From …
Type: Blog
… architect. The Chinese Garden of Perfect Brightness. Tie them together and the result is part of the intriguing back story of the Chicago Botanic Garden—which starts long before the … of Perfect Brightness] to the west of Peking,” Simonds wrote. The Garden of Perfect Brightness is one of China’s most iconic monuments, built in stages starting in the early 18th century as a … Garden began construction, Rausch recalled, “I have never seen anything quite as bad as that site. Literally, it was burning.” He was referring to the trash, raw sewage, weeds, and abandoned …
Type: Blog
… claws of some creature in a zombie movie? Does it smell bad too? Happy spring! This charmer is the first native wildflower of a Chicago spring: the skunk cabbage ( Symplocarpus foetidus). A … we walked through the McDonald Woods , the 100-acre restored and protected natural area that is home to at least seven state-listed threatened or endangered plant species. Skunk cabbage’s … and ice. The temperature inside the hood can be 95 degrees hotter than outside. Thermogenesis is the goal for skunk cabbages, titan arums , and other “warm-blooded” plants . The heat …
Type: Blog
… and whimsical gift for mom, grandma, or anyone special. A nice feature of these tiny bouquets is that you can show off the beauty of small flowers that always sing backup to showier blossoms … a little larger than you need, and then trim it to fit. Push it into the cap. If your cap is narrow, like a milk bottle cap, you may want the foam to be above the level of the cap so there is enough room to hold the flowers. Otherwise, trim the top so the foam does not stick up. Add …
Type: Blog
… found out on the Internet. The Internet knows everything. Lexi: It’s very stinky. Maxwell: It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see it. And it is very stinky. Carrie: I happened to see the Facebook post. And we were here every day for Spike … months old, as well as Susan and Jim Osiol of Mt. Prospect. Jamie: We keep coming! Third time is the charm. Susan: I’m obsessed. Our daughter called first thing this morning: ‘Mom, Sprout is …
Type: Blog
