The Big, Bad Book of Botany

by Michael Largo

  The varnish tree grows from 45 to 60 feet tall and has compound leaves, each of which has seven to thirteen leaflets, 4 to 7 inches long and half as broad. Its berries are ¼ inch in diameter and straw colored. The milky sap, or latex, turns black after only a few minutes of exposure to air, and harvesters collect the substance much like they would maple sap, usually by making a slash into the tree and allowing the sap to drain through a reed or tube into a bucket. Some use this latex for lacquer, which is highly prized for its extreme durability, most often as a coating on finer wood products, such as musical instruments, tableware, and bows; it also adds luster and protects delicate jewelry and even expensive fountain pens. In Kashmir and Nepal, in India, the varnish tree grows at altitudes of 5,000 to 8,000 feet—practically in the clouds.

  Here’s how the varnish is produced: First, five to ten horizontal lines are made into the trunks of trees, which must be at least ten years old. Once the yellow or grayish sap is collected and filtered, it is heat-treated and colored. Then the sap is dried in humid and warm chambers for twelve to twenty-four hours, which allows the urushiol to polymerize. At this point, the mix forms into a hard, clear, and waterproof liquid and is ready for application.

  Various types of lacquerware can be produced by using sap from different trees and by adding tints of color. Probably the best regarded is the cinnabar-red variety, which has iron added to it for pigmentation. Uncolored lacquer, which is naturally dark brown, is applied with brushes. The process is very time-consuming, and requires many repetitive layers. The creation of what’s known as urushi art is a slow process that adds the thinnest layers of varnish, taking weeks or months to complete. An urushi lacquered bowl, for example, might take three months to finish properly. In addition to being made into varnish, the resin of the tree, as well as the leaves and seeds, plays a role in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is prescribed to treat certain internal parasites and to stop bleeding.

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  Buddhist Self-Mummification

  Buddhist monks once practiced a ritual called sokushinbutsu, a spectacular use of the varnish tree’s sap. The monks applied the lacquer to their skin, adding layer upon layer until they achieved death and self-mummification! Members of a Japanese school of Buddhism known as Shingon, meaning “true word,” were the primary practitioners of this ceremony between the eleventh and nineteenth centuries. These monks considered Shingon not an act of suicide, but rather one of austerity and enlightenment. Not everyone who tried it succeeded, but even those who failed to complete it were still much respected. According to records, among the hundreds of monks who tried it, only twenty-four succeeded in actual self-mummification. Today it is not practiced by any Buddhist sect, and Japan has outlawed the practice. One can’t help but wonder: what might Buddha have said about such a thing?

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  VENUS FLYTRAP

  Dionaea muscipula

  Botanical Jaws

  The Venus flytrap seeks insects, as all plants do, although not for pollination; they are for the plant to feed on. When the plant opens its “jaws-flowers,” its color invites insects to enter. The bug’s movement touches the tiny hairs in the plant’s inner structure, which triggers the plant to close its “mouth.” The insect becomes trapped, though it will take ten slow days until the creature is fully digested. Venus flytraps get nutrients from the insect that it cannot get from the soil. These plants aren’t exotic tropicals, as many believe, but are actually native to North America. The plant only grows naturally along the coast of North and South Carolina.

  Venus flytraps are carnivorous plants, primarily thriving in bogs and brackish water environments. The plant forms as a rosette with four to seven leaves, arising from a short, subterranean, bulblike stem of about 4 inches in length. The robust traps form after the plant flowers. The traps are triggered by trichomes on their upper surfaces, but the mechanism kicks in only if two hairs are touched within twenty seconds. The closing speed of the “jaws” depends on the amount of light, humidity, the size of prey, and general growing conditions, and is also an indicator of the plant’s health. When cultivated, the plants are propagated by division during spring and summer; they can reproduce by seeds, although it takes four or five years for these plants to mature. Once rooted in an ideal environment, the plant can live for twenty to thirty years.

  However, the Venus flytrap doesn’t eat meat, such as a piece of hamburger or sausage, and it primarily seeks only insects (though in some cases they have been known to capture and digest small frogs). Each of the plant’s traps works efficiently for only four to six catches, after which the mouth-shaped part turns brown, withers, and falls off. After it has the nutrients it needs, the plant becomes dormant for about five months, from October through March. Each trap has six hairy triggers, three on each lobe. The plant needs about fourteen hours of full sun exposure every day and can grow in nutrient-deficient soil. Indoors, potted Venus flytraps will die if given fertilizer.

  The plant’s common name of course pays tribute to Venus, the Roman goddess of love. The genus name, Dionaea, means “daughter of Dione,” the Greek goddess Aphrodite, while its Latin species name muscipula means “mousetrap.”

  The Evolution Process

  The following is the most commonly accepted scenario on how Venus flytrap evolved in the distant past: Instead of attracting flying insects, it adapted to lure larger ones that could walk over the plant. The plant, having been faced with a situation of living in bogs, where soil pH might change and stable nutrient supplies become scarce, gradually transformed its leaves into traps. As these traps became a successful modification, the plant needed the energy and the anatomy to “wrap” its leaves around its prey, in addition to having the ability to differentiate insects from pieces of worthless debris. This is why it needed the inner tentacles that evolved into “jaws” with inner trigger hairs. Finally, at some point, the plant developed the digestive glands found inside its leaf-modified traps and no longer relied on its stalk to send nutrients to its upper parts—proving, perhaps, how function, in nature, dictates design.

  WASABI

  Wasabia japonica

  Wild Ginger

  Wasabia japonica (or Eutrema japonica, or Eutrema wasabi), also known as Japanese horseradish, is a native condiment crop of Japan. It isn’t known when people first took to cultivating the plant, but most believe the Japanese have done so for at least a thousand years. A Japanese medical encyclopedia called Honzo-wamyo, published in A.D. 918, states the plant’s original name means “wild ginger.” Records indicate that wasabi farms were primarily located in southern coastal provinces, and wasabi was long considered a delicacy. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, laws were passed that forbade commoners from using it, allowing only the ruling classes to consume it. Today, the plant is grown throughout Japan, prized as a valuable economic crop, and anyone who can tolerate its bold flavor can consume it.

  It is a member of the Cruciferae family and related to broccoli, cabbage, and radishes. Wasabi roots are used to make the popular condiment that has a notable strong flavor and “heat,” more similar to hot mustard than chili pepper. The reason some people begin to cry when eating too much wasabi is that the vapor it produces affects the nasal passages more than it does the taste buds.

  Wasabia is a perennial, glabrous (smooth) and glossy-leafed plant, growing up to 2 feet in height. It bears white flowers and is cross-pollinated by insects. Depending on the variety, wasabi roots can have one or more main rhizomes. The length of these rhizomes varies from 10 to 20 inches, and they weigh about 4 ounces. However, the biggest wasabi root ever known was grown in New Zealand and tipped the scale at 2½ pounds—quite a lot of the hot green mustard.

  At markets, wasabi is sold as a root, as a dried powder, or as a paste in small tubes. Japanese restaurants make the paste only after a customer orders it; its hot flavor lasts for only fifteen minutes once prepared. For sushi, it is traditionally put between the fish and rice, in order not to cover its flavo
r. Wasabi leaves also can be eaten and have the same flavor, though less intense. Roasted or fried peanuts, peas, or soybeans may be coated with wasabi powder, mixed with salt, sugar, or oil, and then eaten as a crunchy snack. The specific flavor of wasabi comes from the complex chemical mixtures found in the root’s cells, particularly a compound called isothiocyanate, which inhibits microbe growth.

  Traditionally, there are two methods of growing commercial wasabi in Japan, either in soil (oka wasabi) or in water (sawa wasabi). Most Japanese wasabi farms are family-run and rarely change hands. Since there are limited areas in which the plant can thrive, the last wasabi bed was planted alongside a mountain stream in Japan some two hundred years ago.

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  Nobel Prize for Wasabi

  Inhaling the vapor of wasabi results in effects similar to those of smelling salts. Some researchers have even created a wasabi smoke alarm for deaf people; one subject of their test awoke from a deep sleep only ten seconds after the vapor was sprayed in the room. In 2001, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the researchers who determined the ideal combination of airborne wasabi to alert people in cases of emergency.

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  WATER HYACINTH

  Eichhornia crassipes

  Aggressive Upstart

  Eichhornia crassipes, an aquatic plant, is one of the seven species constituting the genus Eichhornia. Commonly known as the water hyacinth, this free-floating perennial plant is indigenous to the Amazon Basin in Brazil. An invasive species, water hyacinth is highly problematic outside its native range as it infests the water bodies, lakes, rivers, dams, and irrigation channels on every continent except Antarctica. Once removed from its natural environment, where there is an established ecological system of checks and balances, the plant can become an aggressive invader. It forms thick mats and envelops entire pond surfaces, for example, leading to oxygen depletion and destruction of other native aquatic life-forms. Billions of dollars are spent every year around the world to regulate the devastating effects of these “water weeds.”

  The silky, lustrous, round, dark green leaves of the water hyacinth are attached to spongy, inflated petioles, and can be as wide as 6 inches in diameter, rising up to 3 feet high above the water surface. The floating plant has a feathery, black to purple root system that dangles 2 feet in the water below it. The erect stalk of Eichhornia crassipes bears a single spike of eight to fifteen noticeably alluring blossoms, mostly from light blue to violet in color, with a yellowish center. The six showy petals of the flower are joined at the base to form short tubules. The fruit of the water hyacinth is a three-celled capsule, which is only about ½ inch long, but which contains as many as three hundred tiny, egg-shaped, ribbed seeds.

  Water hyacinths breed over an extensive diversity of wetlands, ranging from lakes, ponds, and streams to ditches, waterways, and backwater seas.

  The plant prefers and grows effectively in waters that have high amounts of bacterial sediment or nutrition content, and it favors slow-moving water currents. Water hyacinth, because of its gaudy flowers and leaves, is popular in garden ponds and as an ornamental plant.

  Water hyacinth grows leisurely during the cooler winter months, but as soon as the temperature rises, the pace picks up considerably. Although it grows from seeds, vegetative reproduction is the plant’s main means of propagation, meaning that parts of the parent plant fall off and take root. Flowers begin to bloom as early as October and unusually, unlike most blooming plants, continue to flourish throughout winter. A fully grown flower begins to wither within two days. The empty stalk then bends and dips itself into the water body, and after a period of eighteen days, the nourished seeds are released from the capsules of the dead flower, which then sink to the mucky bottom of the water source.

  Limited Uses

  Considered the world’s worst “pest” aquatic plant, water hyacinth is a serious environmental pollutant in the Gulf Coast states. Its highly invasive nature makes it a drain on nations’ economies, regardless of its beauty. However, the plant does produce plentiful nitrogen content and does substantial good in the regions where it originally evolved. The roots can also assist in wastewater treatment, as they naturally absorb environmental pollutants. In some regions of Africa water hyacinth is even used to make handbags and ropes, while in other regions its flowers are used to medicate the skin of horses.

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  Water hyacinths cannot tolerate extreme temperatures; they wither in water temperatures above 94 degrees Fahrenheit or if the water gets near the freezing point. They grow best in freshwater or in a diluted estuary, since highly salty waters can also prove fatal for the plant.

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  Once Removed

  Most sources trace the plant’s U.S. debut to the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1884. A visitor from Florida picked up a cluster of water hyacinth plants on exhibit and upon returning to Florida released them into the St. Johns River. It flourished and spread rapidly to neighboring states.

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  WATER LILY

  Victoria amazonica

  Floating Wonder

  Nature’s work rivals that of even the most endlessly imaginative artist. How amazing some plant forms can be! One is led to question whether such beauty exists by coincidence or through an evolutionary fluke. Perhaps you’ve seen old photos of people floating on amazingly large water lily leaves? If so, you must surely have thought the image was Photoshopped, or accomplished through some trick photography. While there is a “trick,” it may not be what you think.

  This floating miracle is the plant Victoria amazonica, from the family Nymphaeaceae. First discovered in 1801, it caused a big stir when introduced to Europe in the 1800s, where it was touted as the giant water platter. Its first scientific name was Victoria regia in honor of Britain’s queen, but this was later emended, possibly by the queen herself. Native only to equatorial Brazil, amazonica grows in calm waters along the Amazon River, in placid lagoons, or in former river channels. Its unbelievable glossy green leaves grow up to 7 feet in diameter, with a pronounced maroon lip around the circumference. This lip is very practically notched in two places to get rid of accumulated rainwater, and naturally prevents the plant from sinking. Except for the roots, flowers, and the upper sides of the leaves, most of the Victoria amazonica is covered with flesh-piercing spines. The submerged, strong, elastic stalks of the leaves are “tied” or anchored to the bottom and can be 21 feet long.

  Its gigantic leaves are what make Victoria so visually striking, though there are some other equally interesting properties that create the “trick” of people being able to float upon them like inflatable rafts. First, the surface of the leaf has a quilted texture that almost feels like touching a wet balloon. The real engineering is on the underside of the leaf: the bottom is purple and covered with a spiderweb of spongy ribs, all covered in spines. Its tall ribs create pockets, which trap air, giving the leaf tremendous buoyancy. Still, the leaves are fragile and could be easily punctured by hand. People who ride them usually place a thin mat to evenly distribute their weight and not cause this leafy float to sink.

  From White to Pink

  The whole of Victoria amazonica’s appearance is impressive, particularly its nocturnal flowers, which are 12 inches wide. On the first night that they bloom, the flowers are pure white and emit a strong, sweet, pineapple-like scent. These first blooms are classified as females, and they attract one special pollinator, a scarab beetle (Cylocephata castaneal). With the coming of daybreak, the beautiful flowers close their lattices and trap the beetle inside. During the day, the Victoria flowers transform themselves into functional males, indicated by the maturation of the anthers and the releasing of pollen. This covers the beetle with pollen, though the flowers cannot pollinate while still in the male state. So on the second evening, these clever plants open their flowers once again, having transformed them to pink. The beetle is finally released and ready
to fall for the scent of another fragrant, white flower on another lily pad, unknowingly depositing the collected pollen to achieve fertilization. Among plants, it’s hard to beat this flowering deception or the unique design that allows it to remain buoyant.

  WATTIEZA

  The Tree That Changed the World

  In June 2004, New York State Museum paleontologists discovered a giant crown or branch structure of a fossilized tree in a small sandstone quarry in upstate New York, dating back to the Devonian period, some 360 to 415 million years ago. The tree, a wattieza, is officially the first and oldest known tree to have thrived on the planet. It transformed the environment more significantly than any other plant before it, paving the way for more complex life-forms, including land animals and eventually humans, to exist. You likely wouldn’t be holding this book or reading device if not for the wattieza.

  From this decisive discovery of a full wattieza fossil, it seems a critical and unique prehistoric evolutionary event occurred in upstate New York’s Catskill Mountains, considered one of the oldest mountain ranges on the planet. The wattieza appears to be the precursor of all the forests now growing on earth. These trees preceded the dinosaurs by 140 million years, meaning that when this fossil of wattieza was alive, terrestrial life in the area was limited to arthropods, or insects, spiders, and crustaceans. There was nothing else—no reptiles, no amphibians, and no flying creatures.

  The recent finding of wattieza also solved a century-old mystery: In 1870, a “forest” of fossil stumps was unearthed a few miles away, and they perplexed generations of botanists ever since. Without the upper sections of the trees, experts were unable to precisely identify the species. After the discovery of wattieza branches, a match was found and the mystery was solved.