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From what I have learned from this entire class is that we need plants to live completely. We depend on plants. They do so much more than look pretty are give us air. This YouTube video I found shows some scientists doing research and experimenting on plants. They were trying to speed up the plants ability to go through the process of photosynthesis. They were successful, but not as much as they wanted. However, they also talked about how plants will change completely as time goes on for feeding humans, giving us air, and changing for nature around them. Plants are very important, so it is important for us to care about them and try to keep them around for as long as we can!

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This website article I came across goes into a lot of depth about the background and the information we use now about using plants in medication and medical treatments. It says that the usage of plants in medicine can be dated back 60,000 years ago! It also states that 40% of drugs in pharmacies derive from plants and the usage of them. It goes into some detail about the FDA not approving the plant-based items, but that there is also an act (The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994) that stated that the FDA was not needed in approving the use and sale of plant-based items such as medications and supplements. It is kind of scary to think about, or nerve-racking.

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Ethnobotany is the study of how people of a particular culture and region make use of indigenous (native) plants. Plants provide food, medicine, shelter, dyes, fibers, oils, resins, gums, soaps, waxes, latex, tannins, and even contribute to the air we breathe. Many native peoples also use plants in…

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I found this web article that talks about hybridization. However, this website specifically talks about the infraspecific hybridization. It goes into detail about how infraspecific hybridization happens and what the main fruits that have been made by using it. An example of this is the pluot. A scientist took an apricot and a plum and cross-pollinated the two. It took 20 years to perfect the fruit.

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The era of nectarcots, pluots, and jazz apples is upon us as biologists turn their attention to developing delicious, imaginative tastes.

Welcome to the era of nectarcots and peacotums. These fruits are the resulting hybrids from stone-fruit breeding. Over the past few decades, botanists, horticulturalists, and biologists, who believe in the scientific and inventive expression of selective breeding, have turned their attention from perfecting fruit color, robustness, and size, to developing palatable, imaginative tastes. As our desire for new foods grows alongside agricultural developments and breeders remain inquisitive and passionate about new tastes and edible varieties, consumers welcome new products to the supermarket with curious hesitancy. When you bite into an aprium or a jazz apple, what is it that you taste?

You've seen hybrids before, perhaps without even knowing it.

1. When You Cross a Plum With an Apricot A hybrid fruit is the result of cross-pollination of two plants from the same species or genus. When humans intervene in the process by selecting plants to pollinate for intentional results, the procedure is painstakingly meticulous and monitored. It may take years of selective breeding to produce a desired fruit. The plum-apricot hybrid known as the "pluot" took biologist Floyd Zaiger around 20 years to perfect before he introduced it to the market. Different from open-pollination (which is uncontrolled or varied pollination by insects, birds, winds, or natural causes), when the human hand brushes pollen from the male flower of one plant to the stigma of the flower of a female plant this type of hand-pollination delivers controlled results.

So what do you get when you cross a plum with an apricot? Well, it depends on the characteristics selected for breeding. A pluot is a hybrid of plum and apricot, dominated by plummy characteristics and lighter on the apricot. A plumcot is a 50-50 breed of plum and apricot, and an aprium is a hybrid essentially the opposite of the pluot: a slightly fuzzy fruit with mostly apricot flavor and a hint of plum. These results can then be selectively bred over generations to produce identical fruit. Most hybrid seeds, however, are unpredictable variants of their parents' characteristics; some may even be sterile and not produce fruit of any kind. So to preserve a favored hybrid, breeders will often graft fruit trees to clone their fruit.

2. Grafting an Apple So That It Stays an Apple If you plant an apple seed, its offspring will produce entirely random results. Apples harvested from seeds produce what are called "extreme heterozygotes," or fruits that display unpredictable characteristics often only distantly related to their parent DNA. To guarantee that a Gala apple will produce new generations of Gala apples, breeders reproduce this fruit by a method known as grafting. Leaf buds from the desired apple variety are collected from an existing tree and inserted into the root system of another tree. The root section of the tree provides the buds with a nutrient system, as that root is already accustomed to the soil and environmental surroundings. Usually the leaf buds, or scion, are collected while the fruit tree is dormant in the winter. Then the scion is inserted into the root in April or May, just as the tree begins to blossom. Trees will produce fruit after a few growing seasons.

Not to be confused with genetic modification, selective breeding by humans does not include genetic engineering of specific DNA. Genetic engineering is the process by which genes from unrelated species are isolated and collected to form new gene constructs. A genetically modified soybean that is resistant to herbicide has been genetically modified for optimum herbicide-resistance; its DNA has been tweaked to include an herbicide-resistant gene taken from bacteria. When humans choose to propagate natural descendents of an apple, a hybrid of a plum and apricot, or even a banana, they play a Darwinian role in self-selecting an advantageous variety-a subjective study dependent on a breeder's objective.

3. Stone Fruit Masters Fruit breeding is a centuries-old practice by which plants have been selected and promoted to appeal to tastes, harvesting requirements, nutritional value and aesthetic charm. In the last 100 years, America has benefited from three important breeders who have tinkered with fruits to produce alluring offspring. The renowned 20th-century American botanist Luther Burbank first made a name for himself when he invented the Burbank potato. Decades later, McDonald's now uses a variety of this spud-the Russet Burbank potato-for French fries. But Burbank also produced 800 plant breeds-200 or so of them being fruits. Ever hear of the Santa Rosa plum, the plumcot, or the white blackberry? These fruits bear Burbank's patented names. From his instruction, Fred Anderson, known as the "father of the modern nectarine," and his own protégé, Floyd Zaiger, creator of the pluot hybrid, continued the scientific study of stone fruits. Zaiger is the only one of the trifecta still living and his company, Zaiger Genetics, owns more than 90 U.S. plant patents, including the nectarcot and peacotum.

4. In your grocery aisle You've seen hybrids before, perhaps without even knowing it. Our yellow banana, otherwise known as the "dessert banana," is actually a hybrid scientifically named Musa × paradisiacal. Boysenberries are a hybrid between a blackberry and raspberry, Meyer lemons are a hybrid of a lemon and a Mandarin orange, kiwis are hybrids of the genus Actinidia, and grapefruits are an 18th-century hybrid originally bred in Jamaica. Apples-Braeburn, Macoun, Macintosh, Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Pink Lady, Golden Delicious-are also familiar hybrids.

5. In your future grocery aisle When hybrids earn an officially recognized name by the government, their developer is granted a patent. Every new blend of fruit may be trademarked as something "distinctive." The pluot, for instance, is legally different from another apricot-plum hybrid, the "Dinosaur Egg," sold on the market today. Consider the endless possibilities: a nectacotum (hybrid of apricot, plum, and nectarine), the peacotum (hybrid of peach, apricot, and plum), the nectarcot (hybrid of nectarine and apricot) or the lemonquat (hybrid citrus of lemon and kumquat with an edible rind). The once-exotic tangelo, a cross between a tangerine and either a pomelo or a grapefruit, now seems ordinary in the face of next-generation fruit hybrids that tempt us with their good looks and striking tastes.

Plus: Check out Hungry Beast, for more news on the latest restaurants, hot chefs, and tasty recipes.
Stacey Slate is a food writer in New York City. She has contributed to Mark Bittman's New York Times blog, Bitten, and is also a writer for Civil Eats and a new print publication, Remedy Quarterly.

Welcome to the era of nectarcots and peacotums. These fruits are the resulting hybrids from stone-fruit breeding. Over the past few decades, botanists, horticulturalists, and biologists, who believe in the scientific and inventive expression of selective breeding, have turned their attention from perfecting fruit color, robustness, and size, to developing palatable, imaginative tastes. As our desire for new foods grows alongside agricultural developments and breeders remain inquisitive and passionate about new tastes and edible varieties, consumers welcome new products to the supermarket with curious hesitancy. When you bite into an aprium or a jazz apple, what is it that you taste?

You've seen hybrids before, perhaps without even knowing it.

1. When You Cross a Plum With an Apricot A hybrid fruit is the result of cross-pollination of two plants from the same species or genus. When humans intervene in the process by selecting plants to pollinate for intentional results, the procedure is painstakingly meticulous and monitored. It may take years of selective breeding to produce a desired fruit. The plum-apricot hybrid known as the "pluot" took biologist Floyd Zaiger around 20 years to perfect before he introduced it to the market. Different from open-pollination (which is uncontrolled or varied pollination by insects, birds, winds, or natural causes), when the human hand brushes pollen from the male flower of one plant to the stigma of the flower of a female plant this type of hand-pollination delivers controlled results.

So what do you get when you cross a plum with an apricot? Well, it depends on the characteristics selected for breeding. A pluot is a hybrid of plum and apricot, dominated by plummy characteristics and lighter on the apricot. A plumcot is a 50-50 breed of plum and apricot, and an aprium is a hybrid essentially the opposite of the pluot: a slightly fuzzy fruit with mostly apricot flavor and a hint of plum. These results can then be selectively bred over generations to produce identical fruit. Most hybrid seeds, however, are unpredictable variants of their parents' characteristics; some may even be sterile and not produce fruit of any kind. So to preserve a favored hybrid, breeders will often graft fruit trees to clone their fruit.

2. Grafting an Apple So That It Stays an Apple If you plant an apple seed, its offspring will produce entirely random results. Apples harvested from seeds produce what are called "extreme heterozygotes," or fruits that display unpredictable characteristics often only distantly related to their parent DNA. To guarantee that a Gala apple will produce new generations of Gala apples, breeders reproduce this fruit by a method known as grafting. Leaf buds from the desired apple variety are collected from an existing tree and inserted into the root system of another tree. The root section of the tree provides the buds with a nutrient system, as that root is already accustomed to the soil and environmental surroundings. Usually the leaf buds, or scion, are collected while the fruit tree is dormant in the winter. Then the scion is inserted into the root in April or May, just as the tree begins to blossom. Trees will produce fruit after a few growing seasons.

Not to be confused with genetic modification, selective breeding by humans does not include genetic engineering of specific DNA. Genetic engineering is the process by which genes from unrelated species are isolated and collected to form new gene constructs. A genetically modified soybean that is resistant to herbicide has been genetically modified for optimum herbicide-resistance; its DNA has been tweaked to include an herbicide-resistant gene taken from bacteria. When humans choose to propagate natural descendents of an apple, a hybrid of a plum and apricot, or even a banana, they play a Darwinian role in self-selecting an advantageous variety-a subjective study dependent on a breeder's objective.

3. Stone Fruit Masters Fruit breeding is a centuries-old practice by which plants have been selected and promoted to appeal to tastes, harvesting requirements, nutritional value and aesthetic charm. In the last 100 years, America has benefited from three important breeders who have tinkered with fruits to produce alluring offspring. The renowned 20th-century American botanist Luther Burbank first made a name for himself when he invented the Burbank potato. Decades later, McDonald's now uses a variety of this spud-the Russet Burbank potato-for French fries. But Burbank also produced 800 plant breeds-200 or so of them being fruits. Ever hear of the Santa Rosa plum, the plumcot, or the white blackberry? These fruits bear Burbank's patented names. From his instruction, Fred Anderson, known as the "father of the modern nectarine," and his own protégé, Floyd Zaiger, creator of the pluot hybrid, continued the scientific study of stone fruits. Zaiger is the only one of the trifecta still living and his company, Zaiger Genetics, owns more than 90 U.S. plant patents, including the nectarcot and peacotum.

4. In your grocery aisle You've seen hybrids before, perhaps without even knowing it. Our yellow banana, otherwise known as the "dessert banana," is actually a hybrid scientifically named Musa × paradisiacal. Boysenberries are a hybrid between a blackberry and raspberry, Meyer lemons are a hybrid of a lemon and a Mandarin orange, kiwis are hybrids of the genus Actinidia, and grapefruits are an 18th-century hybrid originally bred in Jamaica. Apples-Braeburn, Macoun, Macintosh, Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Pink Lady, Golden Delicious-are also familiar hybrids.

5. In your future grocery aisle When hybrids earn an officially recognized name by the government, their developer is granted a patent. Every new blend of fruit may be trademarked as something "distinctive." The pluot, for instance, is legally different from another apricot-plum hybrid, the "Dinosaur Egg," sold on the market today. Consider the endless possibilities: a nectacotum (hybrid of apricot, plum, and nectarine), the peacotum (hybrid of peach, apricot, and plum), the nectarcot (hybrid of nectarine and apricot) or the lemonquat (hybrid citrus of lemon and kumquat with an edible rind). The once-exotic tangelo, a cross between a tangerine and either a pomelo or a grapefruit, now seems ordinary in the face of next-generation fruit hybrids that tempt us with their good looks and striking tastes.

Plus: Check out Hungry Beast, for more news on the latest restaurants, hot chefs, and tasty recipes.
Stacey Slate is a food writer in New York City. She has contributed to Mark Bittman's New York Times blog, Bitten, and is also a writer for Civil Eats and a new print publication, Remedy Quarterly.

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The era of nectarcots, pluots, and jazz apples is upon us as biologists turn their attention to developing delicious, imaginative tastes. Welcome to the era of nectarcots and peacotums. These fruits are the resulting hybrids from stone-fruit breeding.

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This image I found shows how plant domestication has changed how plants are. It gives multiple examples of plants before humans started to attempt to make plants better for their now benefit. Corn was super small and now it is hurt, yellow, and makes more kernels food corn for us to eat. The corn kernels probably last way longer as well. The wheat plant before being modified does not even look like the wheat we have today. We have modified plants in order to get more out of it for us to eat, for it to last longer, be bigger, and more!

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This web article really covers every aspect of biomes and plant diversity. It also does a great job at telling us why the two correlate. Biomes come with different climates and geological aspects, meaning it will also come with plants and animals that learned to adapt and evolved from these differences for survival. A plant in the desert does not look the same as a plant in a tropical rainforest. A desert has cacti which have thorns to protect from predators and big stems that hold water. However a tropical rainforest has larger trees in the upper canopy area with leaves that droop downward in order to let water fall down so molds and fungi does not grow. Comparing these two types of plant, you can see they clearly evolved to fit their biomes and if they switched biomes, they would not last very long.

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I think this image does a fantastic job at showing plant evolution and adaptation. I really like that it shows two different plants, going from one growth place to a different one. The alga is where we began and the land plant is were we are at now/evolved to. It shows how the land plant has different structures than the water plant as well as what they are used/needed for. The alga does not need leaves, stems, or roots like the land plant does because they get nutrients in different ways. The land plant uses its leave to gain nutrients by preforming photosynthesis while the alga does this with the whole plant itself.

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This website article does a really good job of explaining important parts of a plant's growth. It also goes into a good bit of detail about the important topics. The topics included are water and nutrients, air and soil, light and temperature, and space and time. It is necessary to know these things about plant growth because you may want to know how some of your food may grow, or even how to grow your own food/plants for yourself. Knowing this information I feel like makes you appreciate all the work plants do even though you do not always see it.

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How Do Plants Grow - Things Plants Need To Grow

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Plants are everywhere around us, but how do plants grow and what makes plants grow? There are many things plants need to grow, and this article will explain more. Click here to get additional info.

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I own a pothos plant and they are very vine like and stem reliant plants(plant in the image above). I understand that it is important for it to have a structural area to wrap its stem around because it needs the support for primary growth and to have better leaf growth. I also understand that it is important for the plant/root area itself to be in a dimmer area away from the sun, so that the stem and leaves will grow towards the sunlight to be strong and get the nutrients they need. Also the healthier and stronger the stem, the more nutrients can be transported throughout the plant. The healthy leaves can also be involved in photosynthesis for the whole plant, as well as storing water for the plant incase of an emergency.