Flowering maple is the common name for about 90 kinds of herbs and shrubs that grow in temperate regions of Africa, Asia, and North and South America. Flowering maples usually have heart-shaped leaves. The flowers may be a wide variety of colors. They grow sin-fey or in dusters.
Scientific classification. Flowering maples belong to the mallow family, Malvaceae.
Flax is a plant raised for its fiber and seed. The fiber is made into linen fabric and a variety of other products, including rope, thread, and high-quality paper. The seeds contain linseed oil, which is used primarily in the production of paints and varnishes. There are about 220 species of flax. Only one species, Linum usitatissimum, is grown commercially. Different varieties of this species are grown for fiber and for seed.
The flax plant stands from 3.1 to 4.3 feet (0.89 to 1.3 meters) high and has either white or Uses of Flowers. The variety grown for fiber has a slender stem that branches near the top. Seed flax is bushier than fiber flax and bears more seeds.
Flax may be attacked by a number of fungus diseases; these diseases include rust, wilt, and pasmo. Before planting flax, farmers treat the seeds with chemicals called fungicides to provide protection against these diseases. Farmers also plant varieties of flax that are resistant to disease.
World production of fiber flax amounts to about 760,000 short tons (710,000 metric tons) annually. Before its breakup, the Soviet Union accounted for more than half the world’s fiber flax production. Other leading growers included France, China, Romania, and Poland, in that order. The United States and Canada do not raise fiber flax
World flaxseed production totals about 110 million bushels or 2,700,000 short tons (2,400,000 metric tons) yearly. Leading flaxseed-producing countries, in order of production, include Canada, Argentina, India, and China.
Growing and processing fiber flax. Fiber flax grows best in cool, moist climates with rainy summers. It is planted in the spring after the danger of frost has passed. It is generally grown in rotation with other crops. Rotation helps reduce the effects of diseases.
Fiber flax is harvested three to four months after planting. If the plants are harvested too early, the fibers will be fine and silky, but weak. If the plants become too ripe, the fibers will be stiff and rough and difficult to spin into yarn. Farmers harvest fiber flax with a machine that pulls the stalks from the ground. On some farms, workers harvest flax by hand.
Trillium is any of several species of flowering plants of the lily family, Liliaceae. The plant’s name comes from the Latin word for three. The blossoms of trilliums have three…
Thistle is a term applied to many kinds of plants which have noticeably prickly or spiny leaves or stems. Many of them are troublesome weeds. Others, such as the globe…
Spiraea (spire’a). During the early summer the several kinds of spiraea make fields and gardens beautiful with their dainty lace-like blossom. The spiraea belongs to the rose family. It is…
Sorrel. The prettier of the two groups of plants that are called sorrel is the little wood sorrel, or sour grass. It grows in shady woods, in lawns, and gardens…
Cumin, is a small herb grown for its fruit. The dried fruit, commonly called cumin seed, is primarily used to season foods. The plant, native to the Mediterranean region, is cultivated commercially in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The cumin plant grows about 6 inches (5 centimeters) high. It bears clusters of white or rose-colored flowers and yellowish-brown fruit, black cumin. The plant grows best in a mild climate and in rich, well-drained soil. As an annual, it lives for only one growing season.
Cumin seeds have a strong, spicy taste similar to that of caraway seeds. Cumin provides the main flavor in most Egyptian, Indian, and Turkish curries. It also is the cumin plant bears clusters of small flowers, left. The fruit, right is dried and used to season foods.
Is used to flavor many Mexican dishes, cheeses, sausages, stews, soups, pickles, meats, and dressings. The fruit yields oil used in perfumes and alcoholic beverages.
Scientific classification. Cumin belongs to the parsley family, Apiaceae or Umbelliferae. The scientific name for cumin is Cuminum cyminum.
Plantain. The common plantain, also called the broad-leaf plantain, is a species that often troubles gardeners. It may be recognized in spring by its circular cluster of broad light-green leaves that grow from the roots. Tall, slender spikes grow up from the center of the cluster. In the summer, these spikes are thickly covered with tiny green flowers. Other plantains include the narrow-leaf plantain, also known as rib grass, which has narrow leaves and short, thick spikes; and the seaside plantain, which has leaves that are used in medicine to lessen inflammation. The seeds of various types of plantains are used as a mild laxative.
A tropical plant called the plantain is a kind of banana. The fruit of this plant looks much like the banana although it is hard and starchy and is eaten cooked. The plantain’s fruit has become one of the chief foods in tropical countries. A type of flour is made from the fruit of the plantain.
Scientific classification. Plantains belong to the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. The scientific name for the broad-leaf plantain is Plantago major.
Seed is a part of a plant by which it propagates. Specifically, a seed is the ripened ovule with the surrounding parts.
Plant seeds may have different sizes and shapes. The smallest seeds have such flowers as orchid and begonia. They are the size of fine dust. Petunia seeds are also quite small. The largest seed has the double coconut palm of the Seychelles Islands. The fruit of this unusual palm weighs up to 40 pounds and has one or two seeds in it. It is not the same as the common coconut, though the common coconut has a large seed structure too.
Though plant and flower seeds vary greatly, they all have three basic parts: miniature plant (embryo) in the inside, food supply (endosperm) in the middle, and a protective coating (seed coat or testa). The embryo has one or more cotyledons or seed leaves. Plants with one cotyledon are monocotyledons or monocots. Those whose seeds have two are dicotyledons or dicots. Plants that have more than two cotyledons are polycotyledons or polycounts. Below the cotyledons there is the hypocotyl, this is the part that will grow downward to form the root of the plant. Above the cotyledons, there is the epicotyl, which will grow upward to form the stem. The endosperm surrounds the embryo. In some seeds, such as the members of the pea family, the endosperm is absorbed by the cotyledons, causing them to be greatly enlarged.
Some plants such as ferns and mosses do not have seeds. Instead of seeds, they have spores to grow new plants. A spore is just one single cell and has to go through a long growth process before producing a new plant. A seed has already a tiny plant developed in it.
Seeds may have additional parts of the plant around them. Apple seeds are in a thick, juicy covering. Melon seeds are surrounded by sweet, watery flesh. Peas and beans grow in pods that may be thin or thick. Anything that contains the seed is called a fruit.
Fruits and the seeds they contain are formed from a flower or blossom of a plant. A flower has two necessary parts – the pistil and the stamens. The pistil has special cells called the ovules. The stamens form a powdery mass of cells called pollen. For the seed to form the pollen must reach the ovules in the pistil, where the two cells join and grow into an embryo. The pollen grain develops a long tube that grows down into the pistil and carries a sperm nucleus to the egg nucleus of the ovule. The sperm nucleus and egg nucleus unite in a process called fertilization and form the embryo plant within the seed. Pollen may come from the same flower or from a flower on another plant of the same species. Each pollen grain and each ovule contains one half of the genetic material in a normal plant cell. When they are joined, the two parents’ characteristics are present in the resulting seed. Half of the characteristics come from the pollen parent and half from the ovule parent.
The pollen lodges on the stigma of a flower. Then the pollen tube grows down through the pistil into the ovary and the egg cell, or ovule inside the ovary. When the contents of the pollen tube enter the ovule, the flower is said to be fertilized.
Important changes begin to take place. The ovary or seed case may turn into a fleshy pulpy fruit, into a dry pod, capsule or nut. The wall of the ovule hardens and becomes a protective coat called the testa. Inside the testa is an embryo or young plant. Now the ovule is called a seed. Therefore the seed is defined as “the ripened ovule of a flowering plant.” The seed then goes into a period of rest. It grows again or germinates after it has been planted.
The types of seed plants whose seeds are protected inside an ovary are called angiosperms (enclosed seeds). Some seeds lie exposed on the surface of a scale, such plants are called gymnosperms (naked seeds).
The pine tree is an example of a gymnosperm. On the surface of each scale of the female cone are two cavities and each contains an ovule. In spring the scales spread open to receive the windblown pollen from the male cones on the same tree. When a pollen grain falls between two scales it sends out a pollen tube and fertilizes an ovule. The scales are then close to protect the ripening ovule or seed. In late fall or winter the cone dries up, the scales open again and the seeds germinate.
Some seeds need a rest period before the miniature plant of the embryo is ready to grow. Other seeds must grow within a few days or the tiny plant dies. Some seeds will start to grow even while they are still attached to the parent plant. Other seeds can remain dormant for several years or, as in the case off some lotus seed, for several centuries. Seeds require proper temperature, air, and moisture conditions to grow. Some need light and others need darkness. When all of the conditions are correct, a seed begins to grow. When the growth begins it is called sprouting or germination.
In most seeds, a tiny white point pushes through the seed coat. This point (the hypocotyls) turns down toward the soil and starts to form branches that grow into roots. Then the seed leaves begin to grow. They are not like the regular leaves of the plant. Some are round, others are lobed or oval. For example, the two halves of a bean are two seed leaves. After a bean is soaked in water for several hours, it can be split open and a miniature plant can be seen between the two halves.
Only a small number of seeds grow and develop into plants. Many seeds die from lack of moisture, others die from its overage. Some seeds are eaten by animals. Many birds live on seeds that they gather from plants or on the ground. Squirrels live almost entirely on nuts and other seeds. Many animals use seeds for much of their food supply. Many times seeds sprout but die because they have landed in a place unsuitable for growth. Thousands of maple and elm seeds fall along the gutters of streets or even the rain gutters on roofs. They sprout but die when the leaves and dirt in the gutters dry out in summer.
Every seed has its own way of traveling. Some may travel only a few inches, others may travel many miles. If they all fell to the ground directly beneath the parent plant, they would be too crowded and too shaded to grow. Seeds need good soil and plenty of space and sunshine if they are to develop into strong and healthy plants.
Many flower seeds are adapted to fly in wind currents. Dandelions, milkweeds, cattails, thistles, and asters have seeds with fluffy little parachutes. They drift through the air on the slightest breeze if the air is dry. On damp days the parachute stays closed. Such seeds may travel many miles on their parachutes.
Some seeds are enclosed in dry husks equipped with one or two propeller blades. The maple, ash, and ailanthus trees have such seeds. They twist and turn in the air and may sail a short distance from the parent tree. Other plants have winged seeds. Among them are catalpa, birch, elm trees, and the trumpet creeper. The seeds of the orchids are so fine and light that they blow about like dust.
The long stiff beards of the grains and grasses act like kite tails. Some plants break away from the soil in autumn. The entire plant rolls width the wind, scattering its seeds over the countryside, such a plant is called a tumbleweed.
Some plants that grow in water or near it may have buoyant waterproof coverings that let them float. Thus many tropical islands have been planted with coconuts brought to them by the ocean tides.
There are plants that scatter their seeds by exploding. The pod bursts and forcibly shoots the seeds in all directions. The examples of such plants are wood sorrel, jewelweed, witch hazel, bergamot, and pansy.
Because seeds have their own food supply and are protected by a coat, they may be carried on great distances. Distribution occurs in a variety of ways by air (wind), water, explosion, and animals.
Seed distribution by animals occurs in several ways. Some seeds have stickers or hooks on them, or they are contained in fruits that have stickers or hooks. These seeds are carried by fastening to the animal’s fur or to the people’s clothes. Thus they may be carried many miles from the parent plant. Cocklebur and burdock have hooked fruits that enclose several seeds. The seeds of the beggar-ticks are flat with two hooked barbs on one end. The wild avens have seeds with many little bristles that fastens to the clothes.
Some plants have sticky seeds. For example: the mistletoe seeds are inside the sticky white berries. When birds eat the berries, the seeds cling to their bills and feet and are carried to trees and other places where the birds perch.
Berries and juicy fruits are eaten by birds and animals. Generally, the seeds contained in them do not digest. Instead, they pass through the animals unharmed and are deposited in the animal excrement away from the place where they originally grew. Poison ivy, grapes, mulberries, and many other plants are often found growing under trees and other places where birds roost. Manure from cattle farms spreads seeds of clover, grass, and grain to new areas. Squirrels and chipmunks carry seeds and fruits such as acorns, nuts, and grain which they bury in the ground. Many of these are forgotten and grow into new plants.
Seeds are frequently transported to new places when they are carried into ships, planes, cars, and trucks on the clothes and baggage of passengers. People also spread seeds by throwing away apple cores, peach pits, grape seeds, and plum stones. Garbage and waste material from packing is another mode of transporting seeds.
Fragile material from Europe and East is often packed in straw or hay that contains seeds. Cleanings from grain shipped from distant places also contain some other kinds of seed. Commercial seed, although carefully cleaned, may also contain small amounts of these traveling seeds. Seeds are also carried along in a material, such as mud, that is stuck on the carrier.
Carrying the pollen from one flower to another is called pollination. Bees are the commonest carriers of pollen. Flies, humming-birds, moths, butterflies, wasps, water, and wind are also pollen carriers. When a man pollinates flowers to improve its color, size, shape, and other characteristics, this process is called plant breeding.
Seeds are tasty, this is a nutritious food for people. Seeds are the most important foods in the world. They include wheat, corn, rice, barley, rye, oats, buckwheat, millet, sesame, peanuts, beans, lentils, peas, and coconuts. Other important seeds for food are: nuts, sunflower, melon, mustard, caraway, coriander, poppy, celery, anise, black pepper, and nutmeg.
Some seeds may contain a lot of starch, such as rice, wheat, and oats. Other seeds have a great amount of oil, such as sesame, soybeans, peanuts, cottonseed, and various nuts, including coconuts, pecans, walnuts, brazil nuts, and filberts. Common cooking oils come from cottonseed, corn, safflower, and peanuts. In the East sesame and soybeans supply oil for cooking and baking. Coconuts and palm seed oils are used for soap and industrial purposes. Oils from some seeds are used in paints and varnishes.
Commercial seed growing is an important industry. The wholesale value of seeds sold for planting in gardens and farm fields is about 100 million dollars annually. Seeds shipped in interstate commerce must meet certain standards set by the federal Department of Agriculture. Packages must bear labels that give the percentage of seed guaranteed to germinate, the percentage of weed seed present, and other information to protect the buyer. Samples of imported seeds must be tested by the Department before they can be released for sale.
FORGET-ME-NOT is a small flower that grows wild in moist fields or along the edges of ponds and streams in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. Easily cultivated, forget-me-nots are frequently used as borders for gardens because of their pleasing blue color and delicate beauty. In some varieties the blossoms are pale yellow or white in-stead of blue. The Chinese forget-me-not is taller, and the flowers are darker blue than those of the common type. Varieties of it have light.
The forget-me-not is usually a light-blue flower, blue or white flowers. Forget-me-nots are a poetic symbol for friendship and faithfulness. They form the genus Myosotis of the Boraginaceae family.
Spring beauty is a type of North American wild flower that blooms in early spring. Spring-beauties are found from Nova Scotia to Georgia and from Saskatchewan to Texas. They also grow in the Western United States from Washington to California. The plants are found in woods, thickets, and even lawns.
A spring-beauty has white pink, or rose-colored flowers. The flowers have pink to purple veins. The plant usually has a single pair of leaves about halfway up the stem. Spring-beauties grow 6 to 18 inches (15 to 46 centimeters) tall. The flowers are perennials-that is, they the spring-beauty is a North American wild flower. Its blossoms are white, pink, or rose-colored, with pink to purple veins may live for more than two years or growing seasons. Scientific classification. Spring-beauties belong to the purslane family, Portulacaceae. They are genus Caytonia.
Oleander is an evergreen shrub cultivated for its showy flowers and handsome foliage. It belongs to the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. In warm regions it grows outdoors all year. In cooler regions it makes a fine house- and greenhouse plant. The common oleander, Nerium oleander, native to the Mediterranean region, grows 8 to 20 feet tall. Its thick, lance-shaped leaves, up to 10 inches long and 1 inch wide, are grouped in threes or fours along the stem. Except in double-flowered varieties the red, white, pink, or purple blossoms have five petals. The blossoms, which are l,5 to 3 inches wide, cluster at the branch tips. Narrow seed pods, 4 to 7 inches long, contain many fuzzy seeds. Similar to the common oleander, but sweeter smelling, is the fragrant oleander, Nerium odorum, native to southern Asia.
All parts of the plants are poisonous. So is the smoke from burning oleander wood and honey from oleander nectar. One leaf of oleander can kill the cow or horse that eats it.
Violet (vi’olut) is a large genus of flower that has about 400 species. Mythology says that it was Aphrodite’s sacred flower. It has been known since earliest times and was the symbol of the ancient city of Athens. North America has the greatest number of species. It has been named the state flower of Wisconsin, Illinois, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.
Most kinds of violet are low-growing, compact bushes, but others are more upright and may be a foot tall. Some of the species have delicately perfumed blossoms borne amid heart-shaped, deep green leaves. In color violets range from white through light yellow and blue to purple. Examples are the bird’s-foot violet and the violas and pansies commonly grown in gardens. The flower called dogtooth violet is not a true violet but belongs to the lily family.
Although perfume is made from violet odor, most kinds of violet are odorless. Sometimes the blooms are crystallizes into candies or used in salads.
In the wild state most violets grow on rich, moist soils in the shade of trees or bushes An exception to this is the bird’s-foot violet commonly found in sunny spots on sandy soils or rocky ledges. Wild violets multiply by means of seeds or runners which spread out from the parent plants and take root. The cultivated types are usually grown from divisions of the old plants. The two most important rules in the care of violets are to give enough but not too much moisture and to supply plenty of shade. Early spring is the best time to plant them. If they grow slowly weeding is necessary. Often they grow vigorously and compete readily with other plants.