Thomas' Botany Blog

Our class had the privilege to participate in a campus tour at Urbana University. I was so surprised to know that our campus is filled with so many different types of trees. On our campus I would estimate that we have over 1,000 different types of plants all living to create a biodiverse environment. University is a biodiverse campus in the deciduous forest ecosystem. This ecosystem is rich in plant life. The soil is rich and nutrient which allows many different types of plants to grow, develop and change. This will create a rich life history for each of the plants in this environment. Dr. TingTing Cai, a Professor of Botany Sciences at Urbana University led our entire class on a campus tour exposing us to each of the different trees as well as their features and quick and easy ways to make each of the trees identifiable. One of the plants that we first discussed was the Elm tree. Professor Cai expressed that you can identify these trees through their features. Elm tree

Picture retrieved from: https://www.cedarbognp.org/ Today our Botany class was given the pleasure of a speaker Tracy Bleim to present on trees. She began the lecture on asking us one important question. “Why do we love trees?” She expressed of the common and complex reasons that trees are used for in our daily lives. She expressed that they have historical value, they are used to build our homes, and they provide extensive biodiversity for our environment. I was very interested with the facts that she presented throughout her lecture. I was intrigued to find out that there is not a filtration system for water in the United States of America that can remove pharmaceutical waste, but she explained that wetlands can indeed remove this waste. The biodiversity that is located in a wetland can actually remove this waste. It is fascinating that the biodiversity itself can remove unnatural waste. There were many other interesting facts presented during this informative lecture. She

Picture retrieved from: https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/leaves-different-shapes-sizes Today in class, I learned that there are many different types of leaves. Because of these different types of leaves there is a set of classifications that are generally used to identify different types of plants. Each of the leaves begin with a broad-leaf category. This broad category is divided down into alternates of the leaf bud or opposites of the leaf bud.  Now, let’s break down each of these in the quick notes… QUICK NOTES: Pinnate leaves are leaves that branch from a stem arranged on each side of the stem that are usually on opposite sides. Twice Pinnate are leaves that branch from a stem and then branch again. Usually on each stem the leaflets are on opposite sides. Trifoliate leaves that have three leaflets that branch out from the stem. Picture retrieved from: https://woodlandstewards.osu.edu/sites/woodlands/files/d

Pictures retrieved from: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/prairie/ WHAT ARE THEY? Prairies are extensive flat grasslands with few trees. Prairies have little to no trees and have moderate rainfall as well as moderate temperatures. Temperature highs are usually 51.1 degrees Fahrenheit and temperature lows are 30.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Rainfall in the area per year is usually 30.26 inches. This light rainfall allows for plant life to survive but plants in these areas will only live if they can go without water for extensive periods of time. TYPES OF PRAIRIES: There are many different types of prairies. There are three basic types of prairies. They fall into three basic types. The first type of prairie is the Wet Prairie. The second type of prairie is the Mesic Prairie. The third type of prairie is the Dry Prairie. The Wet Prairie This type of prairie has a lot of water. Soils in this environment are typically sandy and have clay.  The Mesic Prairie This ty