Uncolonized North America was once inhabited by many organisms that have now become extinct. The extinction of these organisms can be blamed on the over harvesting of valuable resources or the introduction of foreign diseases from importation. One of these extinct organisms was the American chestnut. The American chestnut once inhabited the Eastern portion of North America from Maine to Florida. The great tree was once a dominant species that inhabited the Appalachian Mountains. The tree provided a staple diet to pre-colonized North American inhabitants and the immigrants of Europe. The great tree which dominated the overstory deciduous forest would soon meet its demise from a foreign invader by the mid- twentieth century.
The American chestnut was not only an important food source for almost all living organisms of the Eastern, North America, but it was very important in providing housing and furniture and numerous other wooden necessities. The tree possessed rot resistant properties and strait grained wood which were valuable in buildings and many other applications. Its enormous trunk rose one-hundred feet into the canopy of the forest. Diameters of five feet have been recorded and many photos of the tree show greater trunk girths. The tree was able to produce its eatable fruit within seven years of germination. It was said to be truly treasured by early Americans.
During the beginning of the twentieth century import and export traffic had increased dramatically due to mechanical innovations. The Bronx zoo which opened its door in November of 1899 was in process of filling the zoo with a diverse mixture of exotic animals and plants in order to draw the masses of New York inhabitants. One of the imported plants was the Chinese chestnut tree. With similar fruit to the American chestnut the Chinese chestnut was much shorter and bushier than the American species. The Chinese species also carried a deadly fungus which the American chestnut possessed no ability to defend against. The fungus was later named the chestnut blight.
The devastating chestnut blight was discovered invading its first victims in 1904. After exposure, the fungus enters into the trees cambium through the bark causing a canker. The fungus then spread around the cambium, girdling the tree, cutting of its life support and ultimately causing death. Many methods were used to try to prevent further infections, chemical fungicides, and burning other chestnuts around infected areas, but all were unsuccessful. The blight would soon reach through the Southern United States destroying all known native American chestnut trees.
The American chestnut which was once almost eliminated from existence in the late 1950's has once again emerged thanks to conservation efforts. Chestnut blight, a deadly fungus, has the ability to kill chestnut trees. However, some chestnut species in Asia have resistance to blight. As a result, a method of conservation has been through hybridizing American species with Asian species. Another method of conservation has been through hypovirulence strains in the infection is reduced. Independently, this hypovirulence method may be a reason why some American chestnuts are surviving despite being infested with chestnut blight. This issue remains important to both the timber industry, although that isn't why chestnuts are being restored, and certain ecological organizations including the Nature Conservancy.
The first major event in the foundation and evolution of the United States is of course the discovery of the America continents and the European contact that followed. Without this discovery, the seeds for American expansion as a country and a power on the world stage never would have happened. Another positive of European contact include the introduction of corn, pumpkins, potatoes, papayas, pineapples, tomatoes, avocados, guavas, peanuts, chili peppers, many different types of squashed and beans, and cacao to the world diet. European contact with the New World and the Native Americans also resulted in the discovery, and addition to the world markets, of cotton, rubber trees, and tobacco; all of which would go on to play hugely important roles in American history. European contact has also had a negative impact. Immediately following contact with the Europeans, the population numbers of the Native Americans declined roughly by half. This population drop was caused mostly by deadly epidemics because the Native American lacked natural immunities to diseases carried by the Europeans such as cholera, typhus, measles, diphtheria, and smallpox. While European contact with the New World had a disastrous effect on the indigenous Native Americans, the contact had m...
The pecan, which was previously named Hicoria, but is now known as Carya illinoensis, grows on a tree that is typically 75 to 100 feet in height (Natchitoches Pecans). The nuts are rounded and can be grouped together at up to 100 nuts per pound. It was evident that the origination was that of an Asian tree species. The tree species had first appeared in North America before the first humans crossed the Bering Strait in about 10,000 B.C. (Jones, 2013) Archaeological evidence reveals that the fossil remains discovered along the major streams and irrigation canals in Texas and the northern part of Mexico, indicate that it was the birthplace of the pecan species. (Murray, Pizzorno, 2005).
The Crowning of Flora. 1816. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Brief Third ed. Vol. One. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. 274. Print.
Pinus lambertiana, commonly known as the sugar pine, is found on the west coast in the mountains of Nevada, California, Oregon and Mexico. The sugar pine is the tallest of all pines and has the longest cones of any conifer. It is very important in these regions for both economical purposes and the environment. (Habeck)
The Pecan tree is a native tree to North America. When early European settlers traveled across the sea to settle in the New World, they found pecan trees located in numerous places in this new land. Since then, the pecan tree has become one of the most important orchard species in terms of acreage. Indians began using pecans almost 8000 years ago in what is now Texas. The first budded pecan trees were produced in Louisiana in the mid-1800s and orchards have been established throughout the Southern states. The first recorded shipment of pecans to England was documented in 1761, by Spanish and European explorers (Anderson and Crocker, 2004). In 1917, a commercial shipment of pecans came out of Georgia and since then, Georgia has been the leading producer of pecans. Although Georgia is the leading producer, in some years collections of pecans from wild trees in Oklahoma and Texas surpass the production in Georgia.
How did the development of European colonies in the Americas alter the natural environment? (The Earth and Its Peoples, 474)
As you travel deeper into the hammocks you start to notice over population of certain plants. These types of plants are called invasive species, which are plants that are brought form other countries and other ecosystems and inserted into the everglades ecosystem. These plants begin to take over the everglades and eventually kill off and prevent native plants from growing. Plants like the Brazilian pepper, which kills all surrounding vegetation and can cause skin irritation, are of the highest threat to the everglades. They currently cover about 700,000 acres of north and southern Florida, and about 400,000 acres just in the Everglades National Park.
It was a bubonic plague that came from Asia and spread by black rats infested with fleas. The plague spread like a wildfire because people who lived in high populated areas were living very close to each other and had no idea what was the cause of the disease or how to cure it. The signs of the “inevitable death” where blood from the nose, fever, aching and swellings big as an “apple” in the groin or under the armpits. From there the disease spread through the body in different directions and soon after it changed into black spots that appeared on the arms and thighs. Due to the lack of medical knowledge, no doctors manage to find a remedy. Furthermore a large number of people without any kind of medical experience tried to help the sick but most of them failed “...there was now a multitude both of men and of women who practiced without having received the slightest tincture of medical science - and, being in ignorance of its source, failed to apply the proper remedies…” (Boccaccio). The plague was so deadly that it was enough for a person to get infected by only touching the close of the
Invasive species only started to show up in the United States when the Europeans started to arrive. Beforehand, very limited contact was made in this particular region of the world, so very few invasive species came into North America. When the Europeans arrived in 1492, after Columbus discovered North America, they brought their own culture and essential food and animals with them. At first, it was just the basics of maize, wheat, pumpkins, and squash, but later on it also included cows, chickens, and horses . As more Europeans flocked into the country, non-native species began to appear in the area. Often, as non-native species appeared it led to unintended consequences of destroying gra...
One of the methods to acquire food for the Cahuilla was through Gathering and Harvesting seasonal foods. One of the most notable food the Cahuilla’s enjoyed was the Pinion Nuts. Pinion Nuts derive from a pine tree that is local to the South Western California and upper Mexico. The pine tree contains a small edible s...
Americas by 14,000 ago” (O’Brien 12), after large portions of North America encountered the last ice age, which
The heat of the sun blazes through the multi-stemmed crape myrtle tree while it stands on moist soil. The surface is slightly uneven and bumpy from the roots of the tree. Soft blades of short grass scatter between the soil with weeds and the petite, fragrant flowers. The sunlight beams each narrow turf, bathing it with heat. Lush, green grass gleams in the light, showing different hues of yellow and green. At the edge of the surface, a mound of red dirt formed by ants. Small pebble like shapes of dirt form on top of one another. Black ants quickly move in and out of the mound. The sky is pale blue. White, fluffy sunlit clouds float against the clear sky. The crape myrtle tree sways gently in the breeze while sweet aromas fill the crisp air.
Paul Celan composed his feelings for his mother regarding both her life and her passing in his poem “Aspen Tree.” The entire work is a vessel for his emotions toward her early departure and comparisons of the life she lived with various objects in nature. However, one emblem in particular perfectly represents Celan’s idealization of his mother. It can be argued that Celan uses the dandelion to epitomize his mother’s life because it highlights his themes of transiency, the light of life within darkness, and the cheating nature of death. Comparison between the dandelion, other wonders in nature, and his mother’s life support this claim as well as contextual hints from the piece itself.
Pears were first grown around the periods 1603-1867 and it was recorded in 1860 that 150 people planted pears and soon they became widely planted. Around the period they were first planted they