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-   Term 20: September - December 2008 (https://www.snitchseeker.com/term-20-september-december-2008/)
-   -   Herbology Lesson Two: Last Attempts (https://www.snitchseeker.com/term-20-september-december-2008/herbology-lesson-two-last-attempts-60294/)

Slytherin Princess 11-23-2008 11:50 AM

Sapphire raised her hand and said "sir in an extention to Patricia's question what about cutting away dead leaves doesn't that help?" she asked curiously "as they wouldn't they be taking nutrents they don't really need?"

Zellanna 11-23-2008 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LisaPotter1125 (Post 7505545)
Astrid raised her hand and asked, "Is there a way to know what the typical life span is for each type of plant? That way you will know when your efforts would just be futile in trying to keep it alive."

"The only way to really know is by growing the plants for yourself and watching how they do. As an experimental herbologist I have to do this quite often as I find new plants, or create them. Sometimes you will not be sure for quite some time. Sometimes it takes generations of herbologists to figure a plant's lifetime. Though most are documented, and you can figure out a close approximation if you can figure out what the plant's closest 'family' is."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Femiperumbally (Post 7505650)
Lisa put up her hand and asked quickly"So what is the difference between a monocarpic plant and an annula plant, Professor?"she asked frowning. She was having a bit of trouble understanding this topic.

"An annual plant complete its life cycle within one year. This is regardless of budding, flowering, fruiting, or seeding. At the end of the year it dies. End of story. Meanwhile a monocarpic plant dies at the end of one gestational cycle. It buds, flowers, fruits, seeds, then dies. This could take less than a year, or this can take more than a year. There are even variations that will live for a hundred years before its gestational cycle. Some wait for the right conditions. And some can have their lifespan prolonged if they are prevented from their gestational cycle. Does that make more sense?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by deviljo8586 (Post 7506059)
Sapphire raised her hand and said "sir in an extention to Patricia's question what about cutting away dead leaves doesn't that help?" she asked curiously "as they wouldn't they be taking nutrents they don't really need?"

"Dying leaves and dead leaves typically do not take in nutrients anyway. They begin to die off because they aren't getting the sufficient nutrients in the first place, and often their veins close off long before they've died. Taking them off if they are dying or in a place where they are not getting much sunlight, for those that need it, can help improve the health of the plant. But taking off dead leaves is only for aesthetic purposes."

fabula puella 11-24-2008 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zellanna (Post 7507785)
"An annual plant complete its life cycle within one year. This is regardless of budding, flowering, fruiting, or seeding. At the end of the year it dies. End of story. Meanwhile a monocarpic plant dies at the end of one gestational cycle. It buds, flowers, fruits, seeds, then dies. This could take less than a year, or this can take more than a year. There are even variations that will live for a hundred years before its gestational cycle. Some wait for the right conditions. And some can have their lifespan prolonged if they are prevented from their gestational cycle. Does that make more sense?"

"Umm, yes I think so.But what is a gestational cycle?"Lisa asked glad that the Professor hadn't made a big fuss about her question even though probably everyone else knew the answer anyway.

Slytherin Princess 11-24-2008 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zellanna (Post 7507785)

"Dying leaves and dead leaves typically do not take in nutrients anyway. They begin to die off because they aren't getting the sufficient nutrients in the first place, and often their veins close off long before they've died. Taking them off if they are dying or in a place where they are not getting much sunlight, for those that need it, can help improve the health of the plant. But taking off dead leaves is only for aesthetic purposes."

Sapphire nodded and raised her hand again "Sir i know how you can tell on a muggle plant when the leaves are dying but what about magical plants?" she was really starting to be interested in this

Zellanna 11-24-2008 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Femiperumbally (Post 7509415)
"Umm, yes I think so.But what is a gestational cycle?"Lisa asked glad that the Professor hadn't made a big fuss about her question even though probably everyone else knew the answer anyway.

This was worse than the botanical copulation, Merlin bless his dear late wife. "Well..." How to explain, how to explain... "Gestation is the growth of any life from..." He rubbed his forehead, thinking he needed to make this a lot simpler. "Does anyone know what a flower is composed of? Or better yet..." he couldn't believe he was saying this, "was anyone here from the class on cross-pollination and the resulting... song..." Where was his daughter at a time like this?

Quote:

Originally Posted by deviljo8586 (Post 7509915)
Sapphire nodded and raised her hand again "Sir i know how you can tell on a muggle plant when the leaves are dying but what about magical plants?" she was really starting to be interested in this

Ah, a much easier question! "Many magical plants will show the same signs. However, just like the rose is one of the few to grow that final sucker, some magical plants also have their own signs. A plant I covered quite a few classes back would actually have to be 'killed' in its ghostly form before it would rejuvenate as a physical plant. It is always imperative to get to know a plant."

Slytherin Princess 11-24-2008 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zellanna (Post 7511167)


Ah, a much easier question! "Many magical plants will show the same signs. However, just like the rose is one of the few to grow that final sucker, some magical plants also have their own signs. A plant I covered quite a few classes back would actually have to be 'killed' in its ghostly form before it would rejuvenate as a physical plant. It is always imperative to get to know a plant."

Sapphire smiled "thank you professor" she started writing allof this down quickly incase it was needed

Amira With a C 11-24-2008 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zellanna (Post 7511167)


This was worse than the botanical copulation, Merlin bless his dear late wife. "Well..." How to explain, how to explain... "Gestation is the growth of any life from..." He rubbed his forehead, thinking he needed to make this a lot simpler. "Does anyone know what a flower is composed of? Or better yet..." he couldn't believe he was saying this, "was anyone here from the class on cross-pollination and the resulting... song..." Where was his daughter at a time like this?

Camira was confused as to why Professor Carracio was stumbling on his words. This was definitely a new thing. She raised her hand. "Professor, isn't gestation, in regards to plants, simply the period of time between when a seed is first created up until the resulting plant's death. Like, kind of just another word for life span?" She thought that's what it meant, but maybe it was different for plants.

Zellanna 11-25-2008 01:00 AM

"However, gestation does not always end with a life span. And I would rather explain gestation to its fullest term." He thought a moment, then rummaged in his pocket a bit. Once he found what he was looking for, he brought out a small thing that looked like some sort of glass music box.

He slid his thumb across the bottom of the box and a small image was projected over it. It was Natasha Blaylock, his late wife and former Divination professor. Her red locks were as unruly as ever, and her green eyes shone brilliantly.

"Now?" The figure asked, seeming to be looking at something.

Drago's voice projected from somewhere, "yes, my dear."

She cleared her throat a little and began singing.

"Let me tell you about the birds and the bees,
and the flowers and the trees,
and the moon up above,
and a thing called Crosspollinaaatiooon!

What does a plant need
To make a new seed?
Three things give flowers
Reproductive powers—
the sticky pollen,
the slender stamen,
and pistils make the flower whole.

Its like a girl and a boy,
Making little bundles of joy,
But instead its plants with seeds,
its a botanical copulaaaaatioooon!"

After she was done she broke down into a fit of laughter, having just barely contained it through the song. "Okay, enough, turn that thing off."

"Yes, my dear."


The image faded away. Drago took a deep breath, struggling with his composure and looked to the rest of the class. "So, as a refresher, and since you all ought to really learn this if you haven't already, what are the key things mentioned within the song?"

Liisa 11-25-2008 01:06 AM

Astrid sighed, feeling slightly empathetic for their dear professor. She raised her hand slowly and said, "Three things give flowers, Reproductive powers—the sticky pollen, the slender stamen, and pistils make the flower whole. Is that what you were referring to, sir?"

marfamarfa 11-25-2008 01:15 AM

Torie raised her hand, tears glistening in her eyes. She remembered Professor Blaylock well, and empathized with how the Professor might be feeling right now.

"Umm." Torie stopped and cleared her throat before continuing. "The flowers need pollen, which is produced by the stamen, which is considered the male part of the flower. The pistils, or female parts of the flower, contain the ovaries and are fertilized by the pollen brought by the stamen."

Disneymaniac 11-25-2008 02:26 AM

Theo raised his little hand, "What is copulation Sir?" He asked, rather confused. He didn't like learning new words, and especially long ones.

Zellanna 11-25-2008 02:28 AM

Quote:

Theo raised his little hand, "What is copulation Sir?" He asked, rather confused. He didn't like learning new words, and especially long ones.
Of course, that question would come up. Well, may as well make it simple. "It is the coming together of two things. Such as the pollination between two plants, or... erm... animals, choosing a mate."

Quote:

Originally Posted by LisaPotter1125 (Post 7512875)
Astrid sighed, feeling slightly empathetic for their dear professor. She raised her hand slowly and said, "Three things give flowers, Reproductive powers—the sticky pollen, the slender stamen, and pistils make the flower whole. Is that what you were referring to, sir?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by marfamarfa (Post 7512926)
Torie raised her hand, tears glistening in her eyes. She remembered Professor Blaylock well, and empathized with how the Professor might be feeling right now.

"Umm." Torie stopped and cleared her throat before continuing. "The flowers need pollen, which is produced by the stamen, which is considered the male part of the flower. The pistils, or female parts of the flower, contain the ovaries and are fertilized by the pollen brought by the stamen."

"Correct. Two points a-piece. So, tell me, after the ovum are fertilized by the pollen, then what?"

Disneymaniac 11-25-2008 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zellanna (Post 7513332)


Of course, that question would come up. Well, may as well make it simple. "It is the coming together of two things. Such as the pollination between two plants, or... erm... animals, choosing a mate."


"Correct. Two points a-piece. So, tell me, after the ovum are fertilized by the pollen, then what?"

"Ok then," Theo shrugged. That made sense, sort of. Then he frowned again, his little arm wiggling in the air, "What's an ovum? And what does fertilised mean?" He really shouldn't be in a lesson he didn't understand.

Liisa 11-25-2008 02:36 AM


"Thank you, sir!" Astrid said happily. She looked over her textbook and said, "I'm not exactly sure what all of this means sir, but this says that..."

Quote:

After the pistil is pollinated, the pollen grain germinates in a response to a sugary fluid secreted by the mature stigma called semen. From each pollen grain, a pollen tube grows out attempting to travel into the ovary by creating a path through the female tissue. The vegetative and generative nuclei of the pollen grain pass into its respective pollen tube. The growth of the pollen tube is controlled by the vegetative nucleus. Hydrolytic enzymes are secreted by the pollen tube to digest the female tissue (stigma and style) as the pollen tube grows. During pollen tube growth toward the ovary, the generative nucleus divides to produce two separate sperm nuclei - a growing pollen tube therefore contains three separate nuclei. The pollen tube does not directly reach the ovary in a straight line. It travels near the skin of the style and curls to the bottom of the ovary, then near the receptacle, it breaks through the ovule through the micropyle (an opening in the ovule wall) and reaches the ovum (or egg cell) to fertilize it. This is the point when fertilization actually occurs. Note that pollination and fertilization are two separate processes. After being fertilized, the ovary starts to swell and will develop a fruit.

Anna Banana 11-25-2008 02:45 AM

Anna looked over at Astrid and blinked. What in the world? That just went completely over Anna's head. She shrugged and raised her hand. "Is it that the ovum starts to swell and develop fruit?" she asked.

Liisa 11-25-2008 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana (Post 7513424)
Anna looked over at Astrid and blinked. What in the world? That just went completely over Anna's head. She shrugged and raised her hand. "Is it that the ovum starts to swell and develop fruit?" she asked.

Astrid looked at Anna and giggled. "I haven't the foggiest either." She looked back over the text and thought, It could very well be when the fruit develops. Yes! Thank goodness the professor was here to explain it all to them.

Lissy Longbottom 11-25-2008 02:51 AM

Cale had been listening quietly to the lesson, and blinked when another question was asked. Oh, he knew this one...maybe. He was about to find out. He raised his hand above his curly head. "Well, won't the ovum make a fruit then, or more seed?" he answered.

marfamarfa 11-25-2008 02:56 AM

Torie blinked at the younger girl's response. 'Wow,' she thought. "That girl must really like herbology.' Torie raised her hand to see if she could clarify the young Gryffindor's response.

"What it means is that once the pistil receives pollen, the pollen grows a little tube down into the style of the plant, which is part of the pistil and into the ovary where it joins up with the egg-cells there and begins to grow into a seed, which is also sometimes called a fruit. Over time, the seed will grow until it is ready to be released into the world. This can take a variety of forms. Some plants protect their seeds in cases. For example, a peach pit is the seed of the plant, and the fleshy outside is just used to protect that seed and to encourage animals to help it spread. Pine cones are another type of seed casing, and actually contain many numbers of seeds all in one spot."

Slytherin Princess 11-25-2008 10:12 AM

Sapphire raised her hand and read from the book she had just found something from


Quote:

Fertilisation in plants
After the female part of the flower is pollinated, pollen grains attempt to travel into the ovary by creating a path called "pollen tube." The pollen tube does not directly reach the ovary in a straight line. It travels near the skin of the style and curls to the bottom of the ovary, then near the receptacle, it breaks through the ovule and reaches the ovum to fertilize it. After being fertilized, the ovary starts to swell and becomes a fruit.

With multi-seeded fruits, multiple grains of pollen are necessary for syngamy with each ovule. The process is easy to visualize if one looks at corn silk, which is the female flower of corn. Pollen from the tassel (the male flower) falls on the sticky external portion of the silk, then pollen tubes grow down the silk to the attached ovule. The dried silk remains inside the husk of the ear as the seeds mature, so one can carefully remove the husk to show the floral structures. The development of the flesh of the fruit is proportional to the percentage of fertilized ovules. For example, with watermelon, about a thousand grains of pollen must be delivered and spread evenly on the three lobes of the stigma to make a normal sized and shaped fruit.

Sapphire looked back up at the professor for a response.

Amira With a C 11-25-2008 11:00 AM

All these long answers where confusing her. She raised her hand. "Then the ovary becomes a fruit. So a fruit is a mature ovary holding the seeds, right professor?"

Zellanna 11-25-2008 05:55 PM

He chuckled softly as others looked to him. "Yes, that is all correct. And I am very proud of you all for being able to discuss this and learn amongst yourselves. In fact, I do not mind you becoming a little chatty, so long as you are discussing something within the lesson. I think you all may have described this to each other better than I could have." He smiled as he looked upon each of them. They really had done very well. "There is one thing to keep in mind, everyone: Those of us who are professors in this school are very experienced, and very learned. We may not remember how to describe things in simpler terms. This is why we encourage you to ask questions, and why I encourage you to hold discussions if there is something you do not understand."

"I will always try to explain things simply to you, but I am an herbologist first, and a teacher second. And when I have trouble, your fellow students will always be there for you." He smirked. "Now, back to the lesson. I believe to summarize what everyone has said, the flower is pollinated, and the combination of ovum and pollen, the parts of the plant which create new plants, create the seeds. The seeds remain within the ovary, the part that houses the ovum, until the nourishing pod becomes fruit and is eaten, helping to spread the seeds, or the seeds have matured and are released by the pod. If you all wish, I can expound upon this for the next lesson. But we are currently studying the end of life, rather than the beginning."

"Now that we know basic purposes, and that some plants do strange things at the end of their life, let's think more about the last attempts of a plant. Many of which do wind up killing it. If you think about it, they do make sense. And one of them truly does. Tell me, in a plant that is not monocarpic, what would be the purpose in putting all its strength into blossoming when it feels its life about to end?"

Liisa 11-25-2008 06:09 PM

Astrid took notes on everything that the professor had just said. She was extremely happy for the explanation, the book confused her so. She raised her hand and asked, "Sir, isn't it just the last attempt at survival for the polycarpic plants."

Amira With a C 11-25-2008 06:14 PM

Camira raised her hand. "There are two things that I can think of, the first being survival instinct. The plant is going to die for sure if it does nothing, so if there is even a glimmer of hope that blooming might allow it to live by being able to absorb more sunlight, nutrients, etc, it'll do that and put everything it has into that. It's like when humans jump out of burning buildings. They're choosing the less harmful option in hopes of surviving, even though it kills them a lot of the time.

The other thing, though I'm not completely sure of, is survival of the species, if you will. Hopefully, if the flower blooms fully, when the plant dies, the flower will fall off and hopefully start a new generation, assuming the flower is one that does not need the assistance of another to complete reproduction, like a bee or something." She hoped that was right.

Slytherin Princess 11-26-2008 09:23 AM

Sapphire raised her hand and said "it is for their survival sir i also found this in the book" she read it out "
Quote:

In some cases once seed has been produced, thus ensuring the survival of the species, the plant will stop blooming. There is no reason to put energy into blooming any longer.
"

EquestrianGal88 11-26-2008 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zellanna (Post 7515521)

"Now that we know basic purposes, and that some plants do strange things at the end of their life, let's think more about the last attempts of a plant. Many of which do wind up killing it. If you think about it, they do make sense. And one of them truly does. Tell me, in a plant that is not monocarpic, what would be the purpose in putting all its strength into blossoming when it feels its life about to end?"

Freya raised her hand, "I think it's purpose would be to make sure that it is able to drop a final seed before it's life ends. That way it can ensure in some way that it's class will survive. Even thought the effort this process takes winds up killing it. Although it may not be consciously aware, it's instinct." 'Right? After all, that's the main purpose of any life form. To make sure that it's species survives...'


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