“150 years after the discovery of N. rajah, we finally have an explanation for why the largest carnivorous plant in the world produces such big pitchers,” says Dr Charles Clarke, an expert on carnivorous plants based at Monash University’s Sunway Campus in Selangor, Malaysia.
Seven year olds gather around! Today we’re talking about poo.
A recent discovery in the world of botany has Audrey II (a.k.a. that singing, man-eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors) cringing. The largest carnivorous plant in the world is known as Nepenthes rajah, a pitcher plant found in Bornero. Pitcher plants grow an elaborate cup or pitcher shaped structure and the N. rajah has one so large it could hold two liters of water if filled to the brim. Smaller varieties use their pitchers to trap and eat insects but for years botanists have puzzled over the purpose N. rajah’s extraordinarily large pitcher.
Dr. Clarke (cited above) and colleagues have made a new connection between the N. rajah and tree shrews that inhabit the same Borneo forests. The N. rajah has a ‘lid’ that extends out over the opening of it’s pitcher and produces a nectar that the tree shrews love. In order to get at the tasty goo the tree shrew has to position itself over the opening of the plant’s pitcher. And, well…there’s no delicate way to phrase it - while snacking on nectar the tree shrews tend to poo in the pitcher. They do this as a way of marking their feeding territory.
Dr. Clarke and comany’s findings suggests these supposedly “meat-eating” plants have “evolved a mutualistic relationship with tree shrews.” The tree shrews get an important food source and the pitcher potty absorbs the shrew poo “which likely supplies the majority of nitrogen required by the plant.”
Oh, it all just begs for a tongue twister. Say this five times fast: Toilet trained tree shrews’ pitcher plant poo! Learn more here.
This week we’re honoring the picturesque pumpkin. This is a fruit of legend and lore, found in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, both celebration decoration and autumnal feast. Today, we’ll start at the beginning…in the pumpkin patch.
Perfectly timed for the season is songwriter, performer and early childhood music educator Brian Vogan’s new video release for his song That’s How a Pumpkin Grows. I love the charming animation created by Fashionbuddha Studio in conjunction with creative director and illustrator Alberto Cerriteño. Listen to more songs from Brian’s album Little Songs. And find prints of Portland based Alberto Cerriteño’s imaginative illustrations in his Etsy shop. Via NotCot.
Take a seed from your pocket and put it in the ground
Press it down nice and deep and push the dirt on down
The harvest moon comes in October
And when you look over your shoulder
That’s how a pumpkin grows
That’s how a pumpkin grows
That’s how a pumpkin grows
Now it’s a pumpkin
When we go to the pumpkin patch we’ll have so much fun
Maybe spend round an hour or two ‘til we find the best one
The harvest moon comes in October
And when you look over your shoulder
That’s how a pumpkin grows
That’s how a pumpkin grows
That’s how a pumpkin grows
Now it’s a pumpkin
Considering a pumpkin patch of your own? It’s do-able, but their seeds won’t germinate in cold soil so you’ll have to wait until Spring. Recommended planting times are late May in northern locations to early July in extremely southern sites. A good growing resource is The University of Illinois Extension’s pumpkin site . My favorite part is reading through the list of pumpkin varietals - they have the best names from Baby Bear to Sweetie Pie, Autumn Gold to Winter Luxury, Little Boo to Big Max.
And who knows, if you “take a seed from your pocket and put it in the ground” you might end up with something that looks like this…
Ahh, tis the national holiday of Ireland - St. Patrick’s Day! This annual feast day honors one of the patron saints of the Emerald Isle - although modern day observances have made it less of a religious holiday and more a celebration of all things Irish.
Chief among Irish symbols (arguably) is the iconic shamrock (it’s actually a registered trademark of the Irish Government). For word origin buffs - the diminutive version of the Irish word for “clover” (”seamair”) is “seamróg”, which was anglicized as “shamrock” - representing a close approximation of the original Irish pronunciation. The shamrock’s three leaves are said to be primarily an Irish Christian symbol of the Holy Trinity and is not to be confused with the lucky four-leaf clover (who knew?!) When I was a kid, wearing green or having a clover pinned to shirt simply made the difference between a kiss or a pinch from your classmates on St. Patrick’s Day (although these days I imagine either action could result in a sexual harassment suit.) Erin go bragh!
Looking for a way to celebrate St. Pattie’s with the kids without spending a mint, making a huge mess or consuming the entire day? The tireless crew over at Martha Stewart’s have come up with the following:
Shamrock Boutonnieres. While the instructions have you crafting these from heavily starched fabric I think they would be equally sweet and probably less work to fashion them from scrap paper.
I picked up my friend’s five year old from preschool last week, a favor I’m always happy to perform as this kid is pure joy. Our walk from the campus to the park was the standard post school debriefing. “How was your day?” “What did you do?” He was avoiding cracks in the sidewalk and making little jingling noises as he leaped. I gave him the eyebrows up look and he smiled patting his pocket. “Wanna see what I got?” And out came a fistful of gravel the start of a finely curated rock collection. After lunch on a park bench we decided to forego the typically requested game of hide and seek to continue his quest for bigger, fancier and oddly shaped stones. I don’t know if they remained in his jeans for the rest of the afternoon or were dumped out on the kitchen table but we had so much fun scouring the lawn and walkways for treasure.
I know many schools and families have a nature table tradition with a rotating display of outdoor finds. It’s a great idea really - and one that’s easy to replicate. Free materials courtesy of Mother Nature - precious, but not so precious that they can’t be handled, examined and re-examined by a toddler. Below are some lovely examples from Flickr to give you a little inspiration.
Spring has arrived and along with it - garden fever. If you and your kiddo have the urge to get your hands dirty but live in an apartment and lack a backyard plot, a terrarium project might be perfect way to exercise your green thumbs.
As a kid I remember watching Land of the Lost on Saturday mornings and then attempting to recreate the tropical landscape in terrarium form - complete with plastic dinosaurs. They’re brilliantly simple to assemble and can be assembled in all manner of containers. KidsGardening.com (an offshoot of the National Gardening Association) has a clear how-to, including instructions that utilize recycled 2 liter soda bottles as a container. Cookie Magazine offers inspiration for themed terrariums, along with easy 4 step assembly directions. And below the lovely terrarium images from Flickr, you’ll find a video how-to from the smarty-pants over at e-how.
