Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Natural Hazards Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Water-loving plants thrive in sodden summer
Topic Started: 25 Aug 2012, 10:44 PM (191 Views)
Audi-Tek
Member Avatar

Water-loving plants thrive in sodden summer.

Posted Image Plants that thrive near water have enjoyed the soggy summer. Photograph: James Dobson/ NTPL.


n this thoroughly sodden summer, it's small wonder that water-loving plants have had a good time. Bulrushes are standing tall and proud alongside rivers, ponds and lakes, their strong stems supporting plump brown seedheads at the top, rather like sausages held high on a long stick. These can produce over 200,000 tiny fluffy white seeds that eventually burst out like candyfloss and blow away on a breeze. Bulrushes survive in waterlogged soils using stems filled with air channels that behave like snorkels, allowing air to pass to the roots.

Purple loosestrife, also known as red sally, is another striking tall plant often seen in wetlands and riverbanks. Its spears of purple flowers are still in bloom, and they are excellent for bees and butterflies to feed on.

Teasel, too, is in bloom with small flowers that form a lilac haze over the conical flower heads. Teasel is probably best known for its fierce armoury of prickles and spines, designed to ward off the unwanted attentions of plant-eating wildlife. There is intriguing evidence that teasel may indulge in a touch of carnivory: where the leaves clasp the plant's stem they form little tanks that fill with rainwater and readily catch and drown small insects. This can help defend the plant against small bugs, but one study also found that feeding dead maggots to the leaf bases boosts the yield of seeds, suggesting that the plant at least dabbles in meat-eating for added nutrition.


Source ..... Posted Image

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
jessie
Member Avatar
Administrator
That's interesting to know , surprising anything is surviving all this rain
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Horticulture · Next Topic »
Add Reply

Skin by OverTheBelow