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Broadleaf Carpet Grass

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Broadleaf Carpet Grass

Broadleaf carpet grass is your friendly neighbourhood carpet!

  • Broadleaf carpet grass is a perennial species of grass, native to Central and South America, and southern North America.
  • ‘Broadleaf carpet grass’ is also known as ‘carpet grass’, ‘tropical carpet grass’, ‘blanket grass’, ‘Louisiana grass’, ‘lawn grass’, ‘cow grass’, and ‘savannah grass’.
  • The scientific name of broadleaf carpet grass is Axonopus compressus, from the family Poaceae, the family of grasses, and it is similar in appearance to the closely related Axonopus fissifolius (sometimes known as Axonopus affinis).
  • Broadleaf carpet grass is typically used as a form of groundcover, often as a lawn or for pasture, as it can form a dense covering over the ground and can help reduce erosion.
  • The height of broadleaf carpet grass can reach up to 15 centimetres (6 inches), and the plant produces stems up to 45 cm (18 inches) high, where the seeds are formed.

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  • Broadleaf carpet grass can grow well in moist soil that is of poor quality, and it is best grown in shade.
  • Countries with warm moist climates, such as areas of Australia and South East Asia, have seen the introduction of broadleaf carpet grass, where the plant is often considered an invasive weed.
  • Broadleaf carpet grass leaf blades range from 2 to 16 cm (0.8 to 6.3 inches) in length and they are between 0.2 to 1.8 centimetres (0.1 to 0.7 inches) wide, and they feature fine hairs on the outer edges and around the nodes.
  • Broadleaf carpet grass plants spread easily, as roots can form at each node, creating a connected root system, and the plant can also be grown from seed.
  • When healthy, broadleaf carpet grass is a vivid green colour, blending into purple/red colours at the base of the leaves.
Bibliography:
Axonopus compressus, n.d, Tropical Forages, http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_compressus.htm
Axonopus compressus (carpet grass), 2016, CABI, http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/8094
Axonopus compressus (Swartz) Beauv., n.d, FAO, http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/AGPC/doc/gbase/data/Pf000180.HTM
Broad-leaved Carpet Grass, 2011, Queensland Government, http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/03030800-0b07-490a-8d04-0605030c0f01/media/Html/Axonopus_compressus.htm

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Insect Repellent

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Insect Repellent

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. That’s insect repellent for you.

  • Insect repellents are a compound that is put onto a surface, typically the skin, to deter insects from the surface and the immediate surrounding area.
  • ‘Insect repellent’ is also known as ‘bug spray’, and the best repellents ward off insects like mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, flies, and mites.
  • Both natural and synthetic ingredient versions of insect repellents are available; however synthetic versions, in general, produce better results; and while ultrasonic technology has been experimented with as a form of repellent, studies have proven it to have a lack of effectiveness.
  • Typically, insect repellents are available as an aerosol spray; roll-on liquid; a cream; or a gel, although some repellents are in the form of an object, like candles; wrist bands; mosquito coils; and clothing or nets typically treated with permethrin.
  • Various communities have utilised natural insect repellents since ancient times, typically obtained from vegetation or other insects, or by burning a natural chemical or plant material.

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Insect Repellents
Image courtesy of U.S. Department of Agriculture/Flickr
  • Synthetic exploration of insect repellents began in the 1920s, and it wasn’t until 1944 when a particularly effective repellent was discovered, known as DEET (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide also known as ‘diethyltoluamide’), first used by United States military in World War II; and it has been the main active ingredient in most repellents sold since the 1950s, due to its ability to deter most disease-ridden biting insects; its notable safety record; and its long-lasting effects.
  • How insect repellents exactly repel insects is uncertain, although it is hypothesised that the repellents masks certain human molecules that are detected by and attract insects.
  • While a product like DEET, in rare circumstances can cause undesirable reactions, it is considered fairly safe, especially in the adult population, however, insect repellent can be hazardous, especially if used for extended periods in high doses, and it may cause adverse effects to the human body, especially in very young children and potentially in unborn babies.
  • Insect repellents can provide protection from three to twelve hours, with shorter lengths typically attributed to lower active ingredient concentrations, while longer times usually result from higher concentrations of the active ingredient.
  • Substantially more effective insect repellents than the commonly used DEET are presently in testing processes, while the relatively new picaridin (also known as ‘icaridin’) has become a rival on the market; while lemon eucalyptus oil has been discovered to have an effectiveness similar to DEET, unlike the once commonly used citronella oil which needs reapplying every half hour or so to remain effective.
Bibliography:
A Brief History of Insect Repellents, Part 1, 2010, Incognito, http://www.avoidingbites.com/a-brief-history-of-insect-repellents-part-1/
DEET, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEET
Insect Repellent, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_repellent
Katz T, Miller J & Hebert A, Insect repellents: Historical perspectives and new developments, 2008, Journel of the American Academy of Dermatology, http://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622%2807%2901467-3/pdf
Keim B, DEET Mosquito Repellent Could Lose Its Bite, 2010, Wired, http://www.wired.com/2010/05/deet-resistance/

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Svalbard Global Seed Vault

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Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a backup for even a doomsday!

  • The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a facility that stores seed samples in a secure vault in a mountain not far from the town of Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen, a remote northern island of Europe’s Norway.
  • The Svalbard Global Seed Vault was built as a backup for worldwide flora, particularly crops, in the case of a natural disaster, war, disease or other phenomena wiping out a certain seed or crop plant, or a whole seed bank.
  • Three organisations manage the Svalbard Global Seed Vault – the Norwegian Government, the Global Crop Diversity Trust and NordGen (Nordic Genetic Resource Center).
  • The construction of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault first commenced in mid 2006, a day commemorated by the Finnish, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic and Norwegian prime ministers laying down the first brick; and the building was complete and had its official opening on the 26th February 2008.
  • The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is named after the archipelago ‘Svalbard’, of which the Spitsbergen island where the vault is located is a part, and the site was chosen for its natural preservation characteristics of sub-zero ground temperatures; a structurally stable environment; and significant height above sea level.

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Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Image courtesy of Landbruks/Flickr
  • At the entrance face and the roof of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, there is an illuminated artwork which includes reflective metals to aid visibility from a distance; and the vault covers an area of around 1,000 square metres (10,764 square feet) and sits at an elevation of 130 metres (427 feet).
  • The Svalbard Global Seed Vault cost a total of US $9 million, which was financed solely by the Norwegian Government, and the building is said to be safe from nuclear bomb threats, earthquakes and other major catastrophes.
  • Norway does not own the seed contents of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, as it works much like a bank safety deposit box, in that whoever deposits the seeds, owns the seeds.
  • In 2015, there were around 5100 species over 860,000 samples, where a sample consists of around 500 individual seeds, in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, and this figure grows each year, while the facility has the space to accommodate 4.5 million varieties or 2.5 billion seeds.
  • The Svalbard Global Seed Vault was constructed under the initiative of American Carly Fowler, an agriculturalist, in conjunction with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.
Bibliography:
Anderson R, After 4 Years, Checking Up on the Svalberd Global Seed Vault, 2012, The Atlantic, http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/02/after-4-years-checking-up-on-the-svalbard-global-seed-vault/253458/
Svalbard Global Seed Vault, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Global_Seed_Vault
Svalbard Global Seed Vault, n.d, Crop Trust, https://www.croptrust.org/what-we-do/svalbard-global-seed-vault/
Wade L, That Arctic Seed Vault Isn’t Just There For A Doomsday, 2015, Wired, http://www.wired.com/2015/09/arctic-seed-vault-isnt-just-doomsday/

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Guava

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Guava

Sweet or sour, guavas are versatile.

  • Guavas are a variety of fruit originating from Central America’s tropics, and they are now grown in various tropical islands and regions in America, Asia and Africa, while in 2011, India produced the most guavas in the world.
  • The most commonly grown species of guava plant has the scientific name Psidium guajava and it is from the family Myrtaceae, the family of myrtles, while some other species in the Psidium genus also produce similar, edible fruit.
  • The ovoid, pear, or round shaped guava ranges from 2.5 to 15 centimetres (1 to 6 inches) in length or diameter, depending on the species and variety.
  • Guava skin can be a green, yellow, cream, or red colour, while the flesh colour may be white, yellow, red or pink.
  • Typically gauvas are eaten fresh or slightly spiced, but they are also dried or made into juice, jams, or cooked as part of a dessert.
Guava, Ten Random Facts, Fruit, Green, Skin, Food, Culinary, Fresh, Whole, Uncut
Guava
Image courtesy of Chetan Kolluri/Flickr
  • Around 110 to 535 individual seeds can be found in a single guava, and the skin and seeds are generally edible.
  • Guavas commonly have a sweet taste, however, they can also have a sour flavour, depending on the variety or species, and they often have a strong sweet and/or musky odour.
  • The guava tree can grow to heights of 1.8 to 7.6 metres (6 to 25 feet) or more, and they can bear two crops of fruit in a year.
  • Water makes up to approximately 80% of the content of guavas, making it a great means of hydration.
  • Guavas are extremely high in vitamin C and are a good source of fibre, vitamin A, potassium, folate and copper.
Bibliography:
Ahuja A, 15 Amazing Guava Benefits: Heart Healthy, Weight Loss Friendly and More, 2015, NDTV Convergence Limited, http://food.ndtv.com/health/15-amazing-guava-benefits-heart-healthy-weight-loss-friendly-and-more-1244242
Grant B, Guava Plants; How to Grow and Care for Guava Fruit Trees, 2016, Gardening, http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/guava/growing-guava-fruit-trees.htm
Guava, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guava
Tropical Guava, 1996, California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc, https://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/guava.html

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Mexican Redknee Tarantula

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Mexican Redknee Tarantula

You would be glad to hear that Mexican redknee tarantulas are not something to fear.

  • Mexican redknee tarantulas are a species of spider found in the forests of the Mexican mountain ranges in southern North America, and they have become a popular pet, though they are listed as ‘near threatened’ and are now somewhat protected.
  • The scientific name of a Mexican redknee tarantula is Brachypelma smithi and it is from the family Theraphosidae, the family of tarantulas.
  • ‘Mexican redknee tarantulas’ are also known as ‘red knee tarantulas’, ‘red-kneed tarantulas’, ‘Mexican red-knee tarantulas’ and ‘Mexican red-kneed tarantulas’.
  • Numerous small hairs can be found on Mexican redknee tarantulas, and the spider is primarily brown to black in colour with orange to red coloured patches on each leg joint.
  • Mexican redknee tarantulas are generally between 12 to 14 centimetres (4.7 to 5.5 inches) long and weigh 15 to 16 grams (0.5 to 0.6 ounces), while females are typically larger than males.

Mexican Redknee Tarantula, Arachnid, Spider, Red, Zoo, Sandy, Crawl, Hairy, Animal

  • The diet of a Mexican redknee tarantula consists primarily of insects, rodents and frogs, but also birds and other mammals, that are captured at the entrance of the spider’s burrow where it makes a web, and paralyses and liquefies the prey using its venom.
  • Through an extensive molting process, Mexican redknee tarantulas can restore any limbs or other bodily extensions that have been lost.
  • Female Mexican redknee tarantulas typically live to be 20 to 30 years, however a male’s lifespan is much shorter, at around 5 to 10 years.
  • When feeling threatened, a Mexican redknee tarantula can defend itself using its bite, however it prefers to display its fangs and shoot barbed hairs from its abdomen.
  • A female Mexican redknee tarantula lays from 200 to 400 or more eggs at one time, that are gathered into a silk web sack, which hatch after one to three months, and the young exit the sack approximately three weeks after hatching.
Bibliography:
Giesler A & Zaitz D, Brachypelma smithi, 2011, Animal Diversity Web, http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Brachypelma_smithi/
Mexican Red-kneed Tarantula, 2010, Australian Reptile Park, http://www.reptilepark.com.au/animalprofile.asp?id=135
Mexican Redknee Tarantula, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_redknee_tarantula
Red Knee Tarantula, 2016, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/red-knee-tarantula/

Tropical Pitcher Plant

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Tropical Pitcher Plant

You certainly do not want to drink from a tropical pitcher plant.

  • Tropical pitcher plants are a group of at least 160 species of carnivorous plant, that are native mostly to Southeast Asia, while some can be found in Madagascar, northern Australia, and on a few smaller tropical islands around these areas.
  • ‘Tropical pitcher plants’ are also known as ‘pitfall traps’ and ‘monkey cups’, and they produce vessels known as ‘pitchers’, that hold fluid, hence their common name, though the plant typically needs humidity for pitchers to develop.
  • The scientific name of the tropical pitcher plant genus is Nepenthes, and this genus is the sole member of the Nepenthaceae family, and they were first described in 1658 by Étienne de Flacourt, a French governor who discovered them in Madagascar, and he referred to the plant as Amramatico.
  • The pitchers of a tropical pitcher plant generally grow and hang on tendrils that form on the leaf tips of the vine-like plant.
  • Tropical pitcher plants are well known for their carnivorous nature, catching food such as insects, but some species also catch larger specimens, such as lizards, frogs, rodents and even small birds.
Tropical Pitcher Plant, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Vegetation, Plant, Flora, Carnivorous, Red, Green, Swollen
Tropical Pitcher Plants
Image courtesy of Graeme Scott/Flickr
  • Bright colours, nectar, sweet aroma and even hairs attract prey to tropical pitcher plants, and the slippery nature of the pitcher’s rim, along with moist climates, assist in causing prey to fall into the plant’s pitchers.
  • A tropical pitcher plant waits for prey to slip into the pitcher, which holds a fluid that the prey gets trapped in which causes it to drown, and the plant then absorbs the animal’s nutrients.
  • Some fauna depends on tropical pitcher plants for caught food scraps and even shelter, some even depending exclusively on the flora while other animals use the pitcher as a toilet facility.
  • The pitchers of tropical pitcher plants vary in size, depending on the species, and can be 4 to 50 centimetres (1.6 to 20 inches) in height, and they vary in diameter, while some have a capacity of 3.5 litres (0.9 gallons).
  • A tropical pitcher plant produces clusters of flowers that are pollinated through certain flying insect species, though there is only one gender of flower on each plant; after which capsules of seeds are produced that each hold hundreds of light seeds, that are dispersed through wind movement.
Bibliography:
About Carnivorous Pitcher Plants, n.d, Learn About Nature, http://www.carnivorous–plants.com/pitcher-plant.html
Caring for Nepenthes, Tropical Pitcher Plants or Monkey Cups, n.d, Pitcher Plant, http://www.pitcherplant.com/care_sheets/nepenthes_care.html
Nepenthes, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepenthes

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