David Beeson, May 2023 While it is photosynthesis that captures the sunlight energy and converts it into chemical energy in sugars, the flowers drive reproduction and evolution. There are a few variants of photosynthesis (CAM etc – see previous articles) but huge numbers of flower design variations. Some flower stems hold a single flower andContinue reading “Flower Power”
Category Archives: Structure and life-cycles of plants
Plant Families
David Beeson, May 2022 If you are a subscriber and receive all the articles, do look at the NEW HOMEPAGE at http://www.nwhwildlife.org as all the posts have been reorganised to make searching easier. The placing of organisms into groups some people think is a rather boring topic. I agree; yet understanding some aspects of classificationContinue reading “Plant Families”
Botany – Plant Movement
David Beeson, July 2021 Many people feel that plants ‘do not do anything’. Clearly, that is far from the truth, they often just work at a different speed. The clearest example could be a giant US redwood – they generate more height, more bulk and more potential offspring then me. But it takes them aContinue reading “Botany – Plant Movement”
Carbon dioxide removal and no-cut May
David Beeson, 24th may 2021 Firstly, an article from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/24/trials-to-suck-carbon-dioxide-from-the-air-to-start-across-the-uk This looks at a trial, about to start across the UK, into the most effective ways of removing atmospheric carbon dioxide – critical in reducing Global Warming. Worth scanning to give your day some optimism. We fitted solar PV panels some 11 yearsContinue reading “Carbon dioxide removal and no-cut May”
Botany 2 – They eat like animals and look (a little) like plants. And some wander around, as well. Amazing organisms! What are they?
David Beeson, mid-May 2021 Yes, you’ve guessed it … they are FUNGI. At one time the fungi were considered as part of the plant kingdom. Sure, they do produce spores (as are pollen grains and those liberated by ferns, horsetails and mosses) and a few have cellulose cell walls, but they contain no chlorophyll, andContinue reading “Botany 2 – They eat like animals and look (a little) like plants. And some wander around, as well. Amazing organisms! What are they?”
BOTANY 1: The world’s commonest green organisms
And they are not what you possibly think they are! David Beeson, mid-May 2021 Biology is currently dominated by the FIVE-KINGDOM concept of organism diversity: plants, animals, fungi, protista and those organisms without a nucleus, such as bacteria – the prokaryotes. Generally, plants, animals and fungi are mostly easy to recognise. Protista contains those nucleatedContinue reading “BOTANY 1: The world’s commonest green organisms”
Inside Plant Roots
Inside plant roots – an introduction David Beeson, February 2021 You would be advised to see the articles on stems and leaves first. Seldom seen, but roots are useful plant components! Most people first come across in the form of carrots, parsnips and swedes. These are food-storing tap roots, while most roots are fine andContinue reading “Inside Plant Roots”
Plants are Clever, 3
Plant metabolism David Beeson, 24th November 2020 Posh words, like metabolism, frighten some folks. Not you, I’m certain. This word just means the total chemistry inside an organism. And we, plants and even our friend Covid-19 are bundles of chemicals, and they all work via chemical reactions. Yup, you and me are bags of chemistry.Continue reading “Plants are Clever, 3”
What is inside a plant? Stems.
Inside plants – the stem Let us face it, the stem must provide multiple functions for the plant. It supports the leaves in suitable positions to allow them to photosynthesise, carries water and possibly nutrients up to the leaves or flowers and sugars down to the roots, it may store useful materials such as carbohydrates,Continue reading “What is inside a plant? Stems.”
Plants are clever. 2
David Beeson For more information on this topic: see MOSSES article. September 2020 Seeds are crucial to the survival of a plant species. No viable seeds and the genetic line will die out, although some plants (e.g. English elm) mainly asexually reproduce from suckers forming a genetically identical cluster of plants. Seeds are a geneticContinue reading “Plants are clever. 2”
What do plants look like inside? Part 1, leaves.
David Beeson August 2020. A section through the mid-rib of an Acer plant. A section through the mid-rib of an Acer plant. The mid-rib is the central support of a leaf and has both structural support and the transport (vascular) tissues. The cells are visible as they have firm cellulose walls which hold their shapeContinue reading “What do plants look like inside? Part 1, leaves.”
Plants are clever. Part 1.
Plants are well adapted to life, part 1. David Beeson, August 2020 Annuals, biennials and perennials Evolution, through Natural Selection (Survival of the Fittest), is a powerful force. Death does that! If a plant’s strategy is poor, it dies and fails to pass on its genes. On the other hand, if it gets everything perfect,Continue reading “Plants are clever. Part 1.”
Some of the first land plants: Mosses.
Moss in the Grass David Beeson So, how do you gardeners rid your lawn of moss? Well, you’ll have to read on to find out! When life started to emerge from the watery realms it, unexpectedly, was poorly adapted to life on land. Evolution needs time to work its miracle. LOTS of time. The mossesContinue reading “Some of the first land plants: Mosses.”
You Cannot See the Wood for the Trees
Surely you wood know David Beeson Sitting under a walnut or apple tree when the fruit is ripe is hazardous. A chunky apple or a dozen woody nuts may aim for your head. Ouch! A half-kilogram apple would certainly hurt me. Yet, the tree holds dozens of them aloft … and all the branches, leaves,Continue reading “You Cannot See the Wood for the Trees”
Wildlife and Ecology, the Wildlife Encyclopaedia 