Brilliant Botany: Archive

11 tags

May 24th

1,851 notes

7 tags

waitingfortheweek asked: I'm starting to make a plant collection, but the pressing in the traditional method is not going super well. I know I need practice, but some people have told me I can also microwave the plants in a terracotta press to dry them. Is this an acceptable method of drying specimens for academic use? What about microwaving for a little bit, then finishing off the pressing in the traditional manner?

May 23rd

6 notes

8 tags

May 21st

66 notes

12 tags

May 20th

35 notes

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May 19th

107 notes

13 tags

May 18th

17 notes

11 tags

May 18th

30 notes

9 tags

May 2nd

31 notes

12 tags

Apr 30th

12 notes

9 tags

Anonymous asked: I'm a high school student looking to major in botany in college. However, I really don't have much experience with plants and the only formal education I've had on the subject is 9th-grade Biology... Can you recommend a way I could expand my knowledge of plants? Or do they start with the basics in college?

Apr 30th

11 notes

12 tags

Apr 29th

33 notes

11 tags

Apr 28th

34 notes

11 tags

Apr 27th

9 notes

10 tags

Apr 26th

36 notes

14 tags

Anonymous asked: What happens when an insect causes the transfer of pollen from the anther of a flower to the stigma of the same flower?

Apr 25th

7 notes

11 tags

Apr 25th

327 notes

15 tags

Maple sugaring question: What have you learned...

Question from emsnippet.[[MORE]] That is a tough question. Here are some fun facts that come to mind: - Quebec produces 75-85% of the world’s annual maple syrup supply (it varies by year). Vermont is the second-largest producer, at 7-9% of the yearly supply. - Sugar maples cause a high level of nitrification in the soil surrounding them. - Lighter colored syrup is worth more. - The...

Apr 25th

6 notes

11 tags

Apr 24th

15 notes

14 tags

Apr 23rd

41 notes

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Apr 22nd

45 notes

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Apr 21st

70 notes

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Maple sugaring question: "Is there nutritional...

Question from luiswalker.[[MORE]] There isn’t much nutritional value to maple sap, it’s very dilute, so you only ingest a little bit of sugar. Native Americans, however, were known to drink it unrefined, since it has a slight sweetness to it. Sugarers will also drink it while they’re working, I’m told. (I’ve never tried it!) Today, there are a few companies that...

Apr 21st

5 notes

17 tags

Maple sugaring question: "What are the differences...

Question from kitchengardener.[[MORE]] Maple syrup is graded based on how dark it is, by measuring how much light passes through it. Lighter is better, in the industry, though everyone has their personal taste (I like darker syrups). For the Vermont system, Grade B has a light transmission of 27-43.9%, Grade B Dark Amber of 44-60.4%, Grade B Medium Amber of 60.5-74.9%, and Vermont Fancy/Grade A...

Apr 21st

9 notes

17 tags

Maple sugaring question: "Does it matter what kind...

[[MORE]]Question from pessimisticpersuasion. Yes and no. The most common trees used are sugar maples (Acer saccharum) and black maples (Acer nigrum). They have the highest sugar concentration in their sap and therefore work the best. Sugarers can use other trees, such as red maples and boxelders, if need be, but there is some debate about whether it produces syrup of the same caliber. If the...

Apr 21st

6 notes

20 tags

Maple sugaring question: "About how much sugar can...

Question from silverlakelodge.[[MORE]] It can vary greatly depending on the tree, but a single taphole in a tree can yield anywhere from 5 to 15 gallons in a season. Boiled down, that means somewhere between 1 and 2 quarts of syrup. Large trees can have as many as three tapholes, but two is the recommended maximum to ensure the tree stays healthy. Ask your own question about sugaring here!

Apr 21st

2 notes

13 tags

Maple sugaring question: "How did it all begin?"

Question from emsnippet.[[MORE]] Awesome question! We’re not really sure. We know that Native American tribes collected sap for turning into sugar prior to the arrival of European colonists in the US. There are multiple origin myths about how the sweetness of maple sap was discovered. The first says that a man accidentally wounded a maple tree in the spring and collected the clear liquid...

Apr 21st

5 notes

20 tags

Maple sugaring!

Hey everyone! I’ve been doing mad work on my undergraduate senior thesis, which is about the history and advancement of maple sugaring in the United States. Which means I know a lot about maple sugaring. If you have any questions about sugaring, you should definitely comment here or leave me an ask, ‘cos it’ll help motivate me. All of my answers will be found under the maple...

Apr 21st

6 notes

12 tags