Cool Plants and Trees

[Racoon]

There are some pretty amazing plant and tree species! :)

And what would life be like without them? well, I think we know there wouldn't be much human activity...

 

So, I think the Ginkgo tree is pretty neat. :cup:

 

Ginkgo's are a living fossil, and date back 270,000,000 years! when there were dinosaurs. :cup:

And this tree can live well past a thousand years. The oldest ginkgo in China is more tham 3,500 years.

 

here is everything you might want to know :)

http://www.xs4all.nl/~kwanten/thetree.htm

 

[HydrogenBond]

Maybe some of the large plant eating dinosaurs, eating tons of ginko, owe some of their success to this medical tree.

 

Equally amazing but not as pretty are the stunted twisted pine trees that grow at the timber line in the White Mountains of NH, especially on Mt Washington. They may only get a foot tall after many decades. They are able to survive in rocky crevices in some of the most extreme weather conditions on earth ranging from hot summer days, flooding rains and bitter winters. The whole area is a wind tunnel with the summit, only a few thousand feet higher in elevation holding the world record for wind speed, i.e., 231 MPH. They are ugly but are held in high respect.

[Mercedes Benzene]

Damn it.

 

When I saw the thread title, I thought to myself... "I'm going to post 'Ginkgo tree' ".

Then I read your first post....

...and was dissapointed. lol.

[Mercedes Benzene]

Okay, okay.

 

Witch Hazel is another one of my favorites!

[Racoon]

Equally amazing but not as pretty are the stunted twisted pine trees that grow at the timber line in the White Mountains of NH, especially on Mt Washington. They may only get a foot tall after many decades. They are ugly but are held in high respect.

 

I'm not sure which tree you're referring too,

But the Bristlecone Pine fits that description. Except it does get bigger.

 

These tree's live in amazingly harsh environments and can live to be 5,000 years old!! :cup:

They are, I believe, the worlds longest lived tree; and incredibly, the harsher the environment and higher altitudes, the added longevity.

However, They are mostly found in California (for the most part that I know)

 

 

 

EDIT: LINK HERE FOR MORE INFO! :cup:

 

http://www.sonic.net/bristlecone/growth.html

[Mercedes Benzene]

These tree's live in amazingly harsh environments and can live to be 5,000 years old!!

 

Very cool trees indeed.:cup:

 

They look like something from a scary movie...

or a Van Gogh painting...

[Racoon]

Very cool trees indeed.:)

 

They look like something from a scary movie...

or a Van Gogh painting...

 

The Witch Hazel tree you mentioned, MB, is an important tree to the Native Americans.

It is medicinal as you know, along with Ginkgo. :cup:

Its particulary good for cuts, scrapes, skin irritation, and hemorroids.

Witch Hazel is an anti inflammatory, and makes a great skin tonic.

 

You can imagine the Indians getting all kinds of cuts and scrapes during a day out in the woods; and then applying some soothing,healing Witch Hazel at night.

Beauty and Utility :cup:

 

That is a nice thumbnail attachment. Btw.

[Cedars]

Another excellent thread Racoon!

 

Two of my favorite carnivorous plants are the Venus Flytrap:

 

http://www.botany.org/bsa/misc/carn.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_Flytrap

 

and the Pitcher Plants:

http://www.botany.org/Carnivorous_Plants/Nepenthes.php

http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/sarraceniapurp.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitcher_plant

 

Its good that they can culture/grow these so no one has to take them from the wild. Growing up, we learned not to tell where pitcher plants were so people wouldnt go and dig them up.

[Mercedes Benzene]

Thanks racoon!

Witch Hazel is AMAZING!

 

Two of my favorite carnivorous plants are the Venus Flytrap:

and the Pitcher Plants:

I flippin' love pitcher plants!

 

I thought I once heard that the only place venus fly traps grew in nature were in a national forest in north carolina...

...or maybe that was where they originated...??

Not sure. Research necessary.

[ughaibu]

Rafflesia arnoldii: http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/flower.html

[dagaz]

Well I'm a rainforest nut, so one of my all-time favourite trees is the Yellow Carabeen (Sloanea woolsii). It is a tall tree with a round trunk, massive plank buttress roots and a dense, glossy canopy. It also has really speccy flowers and fruits when in season. When my last dog died, who was probably my closest canine friend ever (apologies to my current dog) I planted a Yellow Carabben on his grave.

[Tarantism]

Bonsai trees are pretty cool!

[Edella]

The Baobab tree: http://langabi.name/gallery/albums/mapungubwe05/Baobab_tree.jpg

The Arabian legend of the baobab is that "the devil plucked up the baobab, thrust its branches into the earth and left its

roots in the air".

[Racoon]

Rafflesia arnoldii: http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/flower.html

 

Your link doesn't connect Ughaibu.. (Edit: it does now...) :)

 

You're reffering to the Raffesia? (I read the Raffesia Kerri Meijer)

Its an amazing parasitic plant with an incredibly shallow root system:

 

DEFINITELY take a look at the link with Unusual Pictures of this plant! :hyper:

 

http://www.khaolakguide.de/rkmpic1.htm

 

The Rafflesia Kerrie Meijer gets its name from Sir Stamford Raffles.

One of the world's rarest and certainly it's largest flowers...

This species found at Khao Sok is on the endangered species list.

Please do not step too close to the flower it will destroy it because

there are "invisible roots" in the ground around the blossom !!!

 

The Rafflesia is a parasitic plant with no roots or leaves.

It absorbs its nutrients with a kind of fungus from its host.

The Rafflesia develops out of a bud (top, left) and blooms for 3 - 4 days.

Afterwards it fades away like a decaying mushroom (it starts - bottom, right).

 

[Mercedes Benzene]

OOOOOOO. They had one of those at a botanical garden near my house a few years back!

It was gorgeous, but smelled like ****..... i mean... (excrement).

:hyper:

pardon my non-scientific language.

[Tarantism]

the peyote cacti is pretty damn cool! :hyper:

[Racoon]

the peyote cacti is pretty damn cool! :)

 

Yes, most cacti are pretty cool! :hyper:

although I've never tripped on that plant before....

 

heres a picture.

and under these growing circumstances, I can only imagine what its for. Indians have a sacred tie to this plant, and that itself gives this plant an Important historical importance. :beer: