The red spider lily, red magic
lily, or equinox flower, is in the amaryllis family. It is originally from
China, Korea, and Nepal. It flowers in late summer or autumn, often in response
to heavy rainfall. The common name hurricane lily refers to this
characteristic, as do other names, such as resurrection lily.
It is a bulbous perennial.
It normally flowers before the leaves appear, on stems 12–28 inches tall. The
leaves are narrow parallel-sided with a paler central stripe. The flowers are
arranged in umbels. Individual flowers are irregular, with narrow segments
curving backwards, and long projecting stamens.
Plants flower in late summer or early fall and leaves follow
remaining through winter and disappearing in early summer. Flowers fade after a
week from brilliant fluorescent red to a deep pink. Bulbs of are very poisonous
and are used in Japan to surround rice paddies and houses to keep pests and
mice away. In Japan the red spider
lily signals the arrival of fall.
Buddhists use it to celebrate the arrival of fall with a ceremony at the
tomb of one of their ancestors. They are planted on graves to show tribute to
the dead. People believe since the red spider lily is mostly associated with
death, one should never give a bouquet of these flowers.
They were associated with
Japanese Christian martyrs in medieval times. These scarlet flowers usually
bloom near cemeteries around the autumnal equinox and are described in Chinese
and Japanese translations of the Lotus Sutra as ominous flowers that guide the
dead into the next reincarnation. Legends say that when you see someone that
you may never meet again, these flowers would bloom along the path. Japanese
people often used the flowers in funerals, hence the name flower of the
afterlife.
Milkweeds are perennial
plants growing each spring from rootstock and seeds rather than seeds alone. Habitat
destruction has reduced their range and numbers. Monarch butterfly larvae
appear to feed exclusively on milkweeds.
There are approximately 110 species of milkweed in North America known for their milky sap. Most species are toxic to vertebrate herbivores if ingested. When Monarch larvae ingest milkweed, they ingest the plants’ toxins and sequester these compounds in their wings and exoskeletons, making the larvae and adults toxic to many potential predators. There is considerable variation in the amount of toxins in different species of plants.
Milkweeds have floral
whorls of sepals (the calyx) and petals (the corolla). Their lowers are
interesting since they have a third whorl of five hoods each enclosing a horn
(modified filaments of the anthers). Together, hoods and horns are referred to
as the corona. Horns of some species are long, while horns of others are
reduced such that they cannot be seen.
Milkweeds rely on butterflies, moths, bees, ants, and wasps for pollination.
Many early Americans believed that
popcorn popped because a tiny angry spirit who lived inside the kernel wanted
to escape. Today we know that the extra-strong hull on a popcorn kernel seals
in water that forms in the moist, pulpy center.
When the kernel is heated, the water
boils and turns to steam and expands. The pressure builds high enough for the
kernel to explode, and the fluffy endosperm fuses and fills with air.
Explore popcorn:
Experiment to determine how moisture
content affects the kernels’ popping ability (dry kernels, freeze, and soak
some.)
Compare two brands of popcorn. Start
with 100 kernels of each. Record and chart the number of kernels that popped,
number that didn’t pop, volume, and flake size.
Have students write fictional
stories detailing how popcorn’s ability to pop might have originally been
discovered.
Predict and then find out whether
corn seeds or popped corn weigh more.
Grow corn in your school garden. Compare
the corn that students grow. Have students make predictions about the growing
process in gardening journals.
Just touching that old tree was truly moving to me because when you touch these trees, you have such a sense of the passage of time, of history. It’s like you’re touching the essence, the very substance of life. – Kim Novak
Research a favorite tree or give students clues and let them go on a scavenger hunt. Some things to include might be:
Scientific and other common names of the tree:
Habitat and Environment
Kind of seed
Flowers, fruit, or cones?
Estimated height
Circumference (measured 4 feet above the ground )
Above ground roots?
What is the soil like?
The color, texture and strength of the bark
Does the tree shed it’s bark?
Leaves or needles?
Shape, color, texture, size, strength, vein pattern of leaf or needle.
How many other trees like this are around.
Any animals in, on, or around the tree?
How much sunshine does it get?
Other interesting knowledge about this tree
Don’t you dare climb that tree
or even try, they said, or you will be
sent away to the hospital of the
very foolish, if not the other one.
And I suppose, considering my age,
it was fair advice.
But the tree is a sister to me,
she lives alone in a green cottage
high in the air and I know what would
happen, she’d clap her green hands,
she’d shake her green hair,
she’d welcome me. Truly
I try to be good but sometimes
a person just has to break out and
act like the wild and springy thing
one used to be. It’s impossible not
to remember wild and want it back. So
if someday you can’t find me you might
look into that tree or – of course
it’s possible – under it.
Mary Oliver
The Pink Peach Tree Van Gogh
Peach Trees in Blossom Van Gogh
Apple Tree in Blossom Van Gogh
Apple Trees on Chantemesie Hill Claude Monet
Tree of Life Gustav Klint
Palms John Singer Sargent
Sunlight Effect Under the Poplars Claude Monet
Four Trees Egon Schlele
The Olive Grove John Singer Sargent
The Poplars Claude Monet
Avenue with Flowering Chestnut Trees Vincent Van Gogh
