Freaky Flowers: The Science of Peculiar Plants

Classroom Links: Biology

The eyes of many insects, including bees, can see a broader spectrum of light than human eyes can. To see flowers as a bee sees them, students may enjoy looking at these photos taken under UV light.

Classroom Links: Biology

Frogamander is a transitional fossil. This means it shows characteristics of species that came before and after it in geological time. Frogamander shows that today’s frogs and salamanders likely had a common ancestor. To see photographs of the fossil, as well as the Canadian researcher, Jason Anderson, click here.

Activity: Using field guides, have students identify one salamander and one frog that live near their community. Have students list the identifying features of both kinds of amphibians. How are they different? How are they similar?

Getting an Earful (page 7)

Classroom Links: Biology, Health

Students may need help understanding that sound travels in waves through the air. Try the You Try It on this page as a demonstration.  As well, students could watch the video here.

Activity: To help children understand the idea of the air being full of molecules, open a jar of vanilla or lemon extract in the room. How long does it take before the scent can be smelled throughout the room? The scent is spread by the molecules of gas that make up the air.  (As an alternative, have them imagine how the smell of baking can fill a house.) 

Whale Sharks (page 8)

Classroom Links: Biology

Common names of animals can often cause confusion. “Whale shark” is one example. Whales are marine mammals, sharks are fish. The whale shark is the largest fish in the ocean. Make sure that students understand the difference between whales and sharks. There are several differences, but the primary one is that whales (mammals) breathe air, whereas sharks (fish) extract oxygen from the water.

For more information on whale sharks, click here.

To learn how individual whale sharks are identified, go to the article "Spot the Spots" (page 5, Issue 8, KNOW, Mar/Apr 2007) or go here. There are also videos available on this site.

Theme Section:
Bait and Bite, Stick and Slurp: All About Peculiar Plants (page 9 - 15)

Classroom Links: Biology

Activity: Bring in a variety of plants (or go for a walk in the neighbourhood) and have children identify the different parts of plants: leaves, flowers, stems, etc. If possible, look at the different parts of flowers as well.

This on-line tutorial will help with identification, or use print resources such as Plants (Starting with Science series) by the Ontario Science Centre, or The Kids Canadian Plant Book by Pamela Hickman.

Activity: Discuss with students the reasons why plants have flowers. (To attract pollinators.) Discuss the various ways in which flowers attract pollinators (e.g., scent, colour, shape of flower) and also the kinds of animals that can pollinate plants (insects, but also some birds, bats, and other small mammals).

Using craft materials, have students design their own flower. When they are done, ask them to explain how their flower might attract a pollinator.

For photos and more information on carnivorous plants, look here and here.

For a video of a Venus flytrap catching an insect, go here.

Wild, Weird Plants

Here are some other odd plants that we didn’t have room for on pages 14-15.

The meanest: The strangler fig  (Ficus aurea) is dangerous to other trees. It rapidly grows to the top of the forest, spreads out a thick blanket of leaves and soon robs its host tree of sunlight. It eventually “strangles” its host tree then spreads its roots and stands on its own. The dodder plant is also pretty nasty. It has no leaves and just entwines itself around a host plant and sucks food and water from it.

The rarest: Only one male specimen of the Wood’s cycad has ever been found. A female has never been seen. This might make the Wood’s cycad the world’s loneliest plant, too.

The best mimics: Many orchids impersonate female flies, wasps, or bees. They attract male insects which get covered in pollen.

The stinkiest: While the durian fruit (page 14) is certainly smelly, many flowers are smelly, too. The skunk cabbage and the dead horse arum are just two of the smellier ones. Their stinky scent attracts flies. 

The most sensitive: The tiny thin leaves of the mimosa plant (or sensitive plant) are full of sensors that cause the leaves to fold up when they’re touched or blown by the wind. It can take just seconds for the plant to wilt and the leaves to fold up, leaving only a shiny, hard undersurface of the leaves showing. This protects the plant from cattle and other grazing animals.

The oldest: One of the oldest plants is the Welwitschia, a plant found in the deserts of west Africa.  The huge, twisty leaves can make the plant look like a pile of garbage from a distance. The leaves on most plants grow from the tip, but these leaves grow from the base. This means that even when the leaves are ripped and battered by the wind, they still continue to grow. Some Welwitschia plants are more than 1500 years old.

Activity: Have students investigate some plants growing in their schoolyard, homes, gardens, and community. Have a plant show using real plants, drawings, or photographs of the plants they’ve found. Create a series of fun awards for the plants (smelliest, prettiest, prickliest, etc.).