Creosote (Larrea tridentate)
The Creosote bush, Larrea tridentate, is the most characteristic specie of the North American deserts. It is in the Zygophyllacaeae family. Although considered native specie, it is actually an invader from South America. The common name creosote suggests one of the reasons it is able to survive in some of harshest environments. According to Schultz and Floyd, “stems and evergreen leaves are covered with a sticky resin that smells like, but doesn’t contain, the wood preservative creosote…the resin screens leaves the leaves against ultraviolet radiation, reduces water loss, and poisons microbes and plant eating animals.” The creosote bush starts as a single stem, but then when it matures it grows into a circle. The outer edges of the bush flourish will the center, where the soil has been depleated, dies. These two things about the creosote help it survive long periods of time. In the Mojave desert “a specimen in question was estimated to about 6000 years old, which makes it twice as old as California Redwoods (Sequoia) and at least 1000 years older than Bristle-cone pine (Pinus aristata)” (Williams) making it the oldest plant in North America. Individual creosotes can live for about 100 years, but the circles that form are exact clones of the original. “An elliptical grouping of such clones found in the Mojave Desert has been dated as about 11,700 years old, arguably making it the oldest plant life yet known” (Microsoft Encarta).
The creosote with it expanding has the tendency to monopolize soil nutrients. In consequence it often starves out other plants. Its deep tap root goes deep in the soil while the lateral roots can fan out fifty feet. The roots themselves can actually sprout when exposed to the air through erosion. Still native plants can often be found under the canopy of the creosote. The root system provides shelter for numerous types of desert like such as; lizards, iguanas, snakes, and toads. Several small mammals also depend on it for food, nesting, and refuge from the elements. Schultz and Floyd state, local birds, such as the verdin, black-throated sparrow, and black gnatcatcher, as well as scores of migratory visitors like the yellow warbler, frequent stands of creosote bush for seeds and insects, while roadrunners prowl the vicinity in search of snakes and lizards.
Native Americans used the creosote bush for a variety of things. The extracts have been used a antiseptics and treatments for arthritis and rattlesnake bites.
Many variations and species of plants can be found all around the world and in different habitats. These variations and characteristics are due to their adaptations to the natural habitat surrounding them. In three of many climatic zones, the arid, tropical and temperate zone, plants that vary greatly from each other are found in these locations. In this experiment, we’ll be observing the connection between the adaptations of the plants to their environment at the Fullerton Arboretum. The arboretum is a space containing numerous plants from different environments. The plants are carefully looked after and organized into their specific habitat. Therefore, we’ll be able to take a look at the plants within multiple
The Chaparral biome is most common in latitudes of 35 degrees North and is seen most often in Southern California. Chaparral plants have special adaptations that help them deal with the unique climate. In addition there are specific characters of a Coastal Sage Scrub and Chaparral community that would help in their identification. Both of these topics, secondary succession, endangered plant species, and the importance of habitat preservation will be discussed.
Rabbit tobacco can be used medicinally in several ways. Smoking the leaves is good for sinusitis, head colds, and congestion. In hot teas, it is used to treat sore throats, fevers, diarrhea, colds, flu, pneumonia, asthma, and coughs, as well as a mild nerve sedative, a diuretic, and an antispasmodic. My grandmother said it was most often used in her home as a salve made of lard and ground up leaves. It was applied to the chest and back and caused profuse sweating. The effect is similar to Vicks in that it helped open up breathing passages. It is also believed by the Cherokee, as well as other Native American tribes, to help cleanse a house after a person’s absence or to cleanse the body after accidental contact with “bad medicine".
Fishing, using natural curves in trees to make boomerangs, use ash and bark infusions to treat skin disorders and sores, used materials such as fish hooks made from shells and the hunting and gathering of mud crabs, snakes and lizards.
Peyote was originally described in 1560, however it was not until the middle of the nineteenth century that botanists were able to conduct field research and correctly classify the cactus (Anderson, 1980). Field studies have concluded that there are two distinct populations of peyote which represent two species. The first and most common, Lophophora williamsii extends from southern Texas reaching south to the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi. The second and least common of the two species is Lophophora difusa, which occurs in the dryer terrain of the Mexican state of Queretaro. This species differs from the more common species by, "being yellowish-green rather than blue green in color, by lacking any type of ribs or furrows, by having poorly developed podaria (elevated humps), and by being a softer, more succulent plant" (Anderson 1980). Native Americans use peyote in their religious practices because of its psychoactive properties, and is usually eaten as mescal buttons, the dried, brown pieces of the above part of the cactus (Lewis, 1977).
Petrified Forest National Park is located in the Painted Desert in northeastern Arizona taking up 93,532.57 acres of its land. Before the national park was established, it was founded as a National Monument on December 8, 1906 when President Theodore Roosevelt signed the proclamation. Years later, the Congress passed a bill and established it as a national park on December 9, 1962. Centuries before Petrified Forest National Park was preserved as a national park, the land was preoccupied by the Paleo people. At the onset of the end of the last Ice Age, hunter-gatherers, people who lived by hunting game and only gathering edible plants, roamed the Southwest from 13,500 to 8000 B.C. Although these people enjoy meals consisting of meat and vegetables, they don’t raise livestock and grow crops. During these years of hunting and gathering, the region was cooler with a grassland environment, and people gathered wild plants for food and hunted bison and other large herd of animals. The types of bison these people hunted are now extinct. Nomads used a device called an atlatl to throw their weapons, such as spears and darts, to hunt. By 4000 B.C., during the archaic culture, the climate had changed and became similar to the one of the present. This period of hunting, gathering, and farming had lasted from 8000 to 500 B.C. In contrast to the time of the Paleo people, the climate was warmer, people extended their access to different types of food, and people began to farm and grow their crops. Due to the extinction of animals of the past, people had to expand their source of food, and they had to include many different species of plants and animals into their meals. Two hundred twenty-five million years ago, trees fell and were washe...
The use of medicinal herbs and food, dancing, music, and chanting in ceremonies and rituals, and physical manipulation are present in all three indigenous communities. Ceremonies and rituals facilitated by the traditional healers often involved everyone in the community. Indigenous African communities used herbs to prevent and treat health conditions such as viral hepatitis, malaria, and diarrhoea. Hepasor was used to treat viral hepatitis, cinchona was taken to prevent malaria and assegaai were used as an antidiarrheal, blood purifier and natural aphrodisiac.
Barnett, J. R. (2004). Langenheim, J.H. Plant resins: chemistry, evolution, ecology and ethnobotany. Annals Of Botany, 93(6), 784-785. doi:10.1093/aob/mch103
In the 1970s and 1980s, a massive amount of inmates began fillin up the United States prison systems. This huge rate of growth in this short amount of time, has greatly contributed to the prison overcrowding that the United States faces today. In fact, the prisons are still filled to the seams. This enormous flood of inmates has made it practically impossible for prison officials to keep up with their facilities and supervise their inmates. One of the main reasons why many prisons have become overcrowded is because of states’ harsh criminal laws and parole practices (Cohen). “One in every 100 American adults is behind bars, the highest incarceration rate in the world” (Cohen). The amount of inmates in corrections systems, throughout the nation, sky-rocketed to 708 percent between 1972 and 2008. Today, there are about 145,000 inmates occupying areas only designed for 80,000 (Posner). Peter Mosko, “an assistant professor of Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice” (Frazier) stated, “America, with 2.3 million people behind bars, has more prisoners than soldiers” (Frazier). There have been studies that have shown “there are more men and women in prison than ever before. The number of inmates grew by an average of 1,600 a week. The U. S. has the highest rate of crime in the world” (Clark). Because of this influx in inmates, many prisoners’ rights groups have filed lawsuits charging that “overcrowded prisons violate the Constitution’s 8th Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment” (Clark). It is clear that the United States corrections system needs to be reformed in order to eliminate this problem. Prison overcrowding is a serious issue in society due to the fact it affects prison ...
We cannot expect change if we do not start change. Throughout history many moments have shook and changed the world we live in today. If these moments never happened what would our world be like now? Rosa Louise Parks was a woman who sparked a movement that many was too scared to do themselves. All Rosa did was simply not get up from a seat and the world went to talking.
Prison has held a place in our society for centuries. Throughout history, prisoners have been incapacitated in a vicious environment and that still rings true today. A person’s experience in prison can greatly vary. It may be a place of solace for those that are homeless because they have three meals and a bed to sleep in every night. However, it can be a nightmare for others who feel as though prison will ruin their future. It is an environment where a person is stripped of their free will. Due to overcrowding in prisons, inmate’s psychological strain, and prison officer cruelty through gladiator games and drug smuggling, proves that prison continues to be a brutalizing and debilitating experience for adult males in the United Kingdom.
own roots (not just the plant kind), this meant they needed a structure that was different than
Imagine yourself living on $14,000 each year under the poverty line. One might have trouble paying for child care, medical assistance, or even feeding their own children. One might struggle in finding a stable job or have a difficult time paying for social security income. The following paper will discuss, how welfare and poverty have affected the United States, what type of people are affected in the process, and how one can help provide cash payments for needy families who are under the given poverty line.
Over 2.1 million inmates occupy the cells of prisons in the United States of America (Highest). Since the mid-1800’s, the prison population has almost doubled in size and still continues to grow. The amount of time spent in prison by an individual has also raised from 1993 (Espejo 21). Routines, crimes, and security contain similar structures in all prisons, but some involve worse circumstances and criminals; here is a look into the life of a prisoner.
Looking at the bigger picture, 16.4 million of our nation’s future is technically poor. Living in poverty is defined by: An individual living alone has to make $11,770 or less per year to be considered living in poverty; two people living together has to make $15,930 or less in a year; for each household member you have to add $4,160 starting from $11,770. For example, if a household has nine members then the income has to total over $45,050, otherwise that household would by definition be living under the poverty line. All though many numbers, facts, and statistics have been presented, people may never truly understand what it is like to live in poverty until they themselves are unfortunate enough to live in poverty. America, a country which people are free to pursue all of their life dreams, a country which people enjoy success beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, a country where everyone who inhabits it is equal, yet America is a country plagued by poverty which takes a toll on health, education, and our