LAKE INTEREST - Lake Erie

I must admit that I never really thought about having an interest in Lakes. Since I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, I immediately thought of Lake Erie. When I was growing up, my god-parents used to take me and my little brother on Lake Erie to fish. My god-father hand made our fishing rods, which I always thought was really cool! I think I did catch a few small fish, but it was always alot of fun! My godmother cleaned and cooked the fish that we caught....right now, though, I can't remember what kind of fish we actually caught. In the summers, we used to go swimming in Lake Erie, and there were always many festivals to attend during the summer. My favorite was the July BBQ Rib cook-off! My Uncle Sammy always made the best ribs, and he placed in the top 5 almost every year! :) Of course, at the time I never thought a minute about how Lake Erie was created. So, I thought I'd take the opportunity to read up on my home town lake, and share the most interesting points (at least to me) with you!

1.) LAKE ERIE'S DEMOGRAPHICS:
 In total area, Lake Erie is the 12th largest freshwater lake in the world and the most shallow of the 5 Great Lakes. It is about 210 miles long, 57 miles wide, with a shoreline of approximately 71 miles with a maximum depth of 210'. Because of its shallow depth, the lake warms up sooner in the spring, making it an ideal fishing spot. Lake Erie also freezes sooner in the winter, creating a large moderating climate phenomenon that keeps temperatures, while still cold, just not bitter cold. That little detail makes the area an ideal grape growing region. Ohio's coast is 312 miles,


2.) HOW LAKE ERIE WAS FORMED
Over the ages, numerous ice age glaciers helped carve out the Lake Erie basin. Today you can still massive bedrock that was notched by the weight of tons of ice sliding over it on its way into southern Ohio. When the ice melted, large areas of softer limestone and salt beds had collapsed under the weight of the glaciers that left a shallow depression. As the climate warmed, the glaciers melted forming streams and rivers that flowed into that massive depression as they still do today. For the most part Ohio's rivers flow south except for a line that runs roughly through where the glaciers were the heaviest. From that area the rivers flow north, into the lake. It is these rivers that help maintain the water levels of the lake and provide the spawning grounds for many of the lake's abundant fish. In fact, the southwest section of the lake between the Sandusky and Maumee Rivers has become known as the walleye capital of the world.

3.) CEDAR POINT - MY CHILD HOOD AMUSEMENT PARK
The beaches of a little jut of land just south of Kelley's Island known as Cedar Point also became a popular tourist spot for its pristine beaches. So many tourists were arriving each summer that a proprietor decided to add a few rides for the kids and the amusement park industry had arrived on the shores of Lake Erie, never looking back. We went to Cedar Point every year when I was growing up!!! :) It was such a fun amusement park!!!


4.) HOW LAKE ERIE GOT ITS NAME
When French explorers and traders entered the Great Lakes region in the 1600s, American Indian nations already had given names to the immense bodies of water they lived along. As reports and crude maps filtered back to Europe, these Indian names frequently were combined with names the French thought more appropriate.
Samuel de Champlain drew one of the earliest, still-surviving maps in 1632. Champlain named Lake Erie for an Indian tribe living along its shore. The “Neutrals” were a tribe on Erie’s north shore which had not taken a side in a conflict between the Iroquois and the Hurons. Thus Erie became “La Nation neutre.”
Later, Nicholas Sanson, France’s royal geographer renamed the lake Lac Erie, ou Du Chat after the Erie Indian nation. These were a fierce people famed for wearing the skins of cats, a nation known to the Iroquois League as the “Erielhonan,” or the “long-tails.” To the French, this nation was called the Erie, or “cat people.

This large limestone rock is on the south shore of Kelleys Island just east of downtown. The remains of at least two Native American villages were found very near the rock. Archaeological and historical research suggests that until about 1643 AD, Algonquian-speaking groups affiliated with the "Fire Nation" confederacy populated the Sandusky region. Historical references describe a water route of travel via Lake Ontario to the western basin of Lake Erie, an area rich in beaver pelts. It is assumed it was these pre-historic groups or members of roving bands of Iroquoian peoples (Neutral, Erie, Cat) after 1643 that carved the rock’s markings.

All information in this post is from the following website:
http://www.touring-ohio.com/lake-erie.html
TOURING OHIO - LAKE ERIE

Photographs retrieved from GOOGLE IMAGES

SUNFLOWER UPDATE

It's been a while since I blogged about my little "baby sunflower" project. I have to admit that I am not much of a "green thumb" :)...My first attempt - my seeds never grew. Although, perhaps thinking back, I believe I may have drowned them before they even had a fighting chance! The second time's a charm - at least so far. They are doing well. I am attaching the first pic taken at about 10 days!...and then 2 additional pictures I just took today...the plant is about a month old now :) YAY

This was taken at about 10 days old...when I started seeing them grow. I was SOOO happy! :)

I took this this morning! They are doing so well!!! :)

My sunflower plant is the one all the way to the right. The others are Rosemary :)

Lab #5 - Ocmulgee National Monument Park

This lab was one of my favorite so far - probably because I really love history and Archeology. While in the park, we spent the majority of the lab talking about the FALL LINE of this area. The fall line marks the area where the upland region of the Piedmont meets the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Many eastern coast cities lie along this fall line. People tend to settle along this line due to the abundance of water, hunting, wild-life, ability to grow food, etc. The fall line has supported humans for thousands of years. The Ocmulgee Park has evidence of Paleo Indians in this area (pre-historic - 9000BC). It's amazing that life has been here in the Macon area for such a long period of time! What a great bit of history I learned this week!

The monument also has very historic lands. The EARTH LODGE and the GREAT TEMPLE MOUND, and the FUNERAL/BURIAL MOUND are all within the monument park. We were able to go inside the EARTH LODGE, but couldn't stay long because there was no air conditioner on! This lodge was really extraordinary. I went online and learned a lot about the lodge. Here is a picture of the outside of the Earth Lodge, a shot of the inside of the lodge, and last a picture of my daughter, Jessi and her friend, Lauren, sitting in the replica of the lodge (which was in the visitor's center). We visited the Center after lab and stayed about 45 minutes. There was a lot of great historical information about the Monument, about the history of the Indians and the area, as well information on the historical mounds. There was a nice display of historical artifacts that have been found on the site over the decades. Below the pictures, I have copied a brief description of what the Lodge (from http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ocmulgeemounds1.html)

Dating from the Mississippian era, the site reached its height between 900 and 1100 years ago. During
that time, Ocmulgee was the center of a major ceremonial complex overlooking the Ocmulgee River, as well as a political center that featured a remarkable earth lodge capable of seating 50 high status leaders. Each had an assigned seat (Jessi and Lauren were guest leaders!) while the three top leaders viewed the assembly from an elevated platform formed in the shape of a giant bird (photo above). Excavations have revealed that Ocmulgee was the home to an estimated 1,000 Native Americans who farmed corn, squash, pumpkins, beans and even tobacco in the rich bottom lands of the Ocmulgee River. The inhabitants of the town traded with towns hundreds of miles away and created pottery vessels adorned with unique effigies of humans and animals.

Many of the pottery and spear points were on display inside the visitor center. It is certainly worth going and visiting!

The following information is from the official site is from the National Park Service (nps.gov):
For over 17,000 years this particular bluff overlooking the Ocmulgee River, now part of the Ocmulgee National Monument, has been occupied by Native Americans for living, hunting, and growing crops to support their families.

Projectile points from the Paleolithic era to the time of the first European explorers have been found here. But the most visible evidence of these ancient people’s presence here are the huge earthworks which dominate the scenery of this mysterious and historical setting.

The builders of these ancient earthworks, which includes a 50 ft. temple mound, a partially destroyed funerary mound, and many other burial and earthen council lodges, are still being discussed by many historians and archaeologists concerning where they came from and where they went after abandoning this site.

GREAT MOUND
We climbed on top of the Great Mound, which was about 1/2 mile from the Earth Lodge. You could see a bit of the campus from up there, as well as much of the park, including the "Funeral Mound", and the "Lesser Mound." The Great Mound was a large foundational mound where upon the Indians built a temple for ceremonial worship. Here is a picture of the Great Mound we climbed on top :)

Blood Sugar Levels - Explaining Negative Feedback

Dr. Rood showed us the power of NEGATIVE FEEDBACK by a simple experiement using his own body - and it's ability to manage the level of blood sugar in his system. A person should maintain a normal level of blood sugar. If that level gets too high, or too low, your body reacts in order to help get the levels back to normal. The body reacts by employing a "Negative Feedback Loop."

Dr. Rood had a blood sugar level of 104 at the beginning of the experiment. He then ate a snickers candy bar, and drank sprite soda. He tested his blood sugar levels every 5 minutes, in order for us to see how his body used its built in negative feeback loop in order to balance his blood sugar. The blood sugar tests showed how his blood sugar initially rose, but then after 20 minutes, his body was able to begin bringing his blood sugar back down to a normal level. 

Here is a quick summary lesson about our body's blood sugar and how it works:

Glucagon increases the amount of glucose in the blood by accelerating the rate at which the liver converts stored glycogen into glucose and releases it into the blood. Insulin decreases the amount of glucose in the blood by transporting glucose from the blood and into the muscle cells. It also stimulates the conversion of glucose back into glycogen so that it can be stored. Receptors in the pancreas detect the amount of glucose in the blood, and this in turn stimulates either the secretion of glucagon or insulin. Control is based on a negative feedback loop. Glucagon causes an increase in blood sugar, and that in turn stimulates the beta cells to secrete insulin as the levels rise too much. This is the "negative feedback" loop. 

When Dr. Rood ate the snicker's bar and drank some SPRITE, he tested his increase in Blood sugar. Every 5 minutes, as more of the sugar he ate began to be absorbed into his system, his blood sugar level rose. It reached a level of 185 after 15 minutes. His body reacted, by secreting "insulin" in order to help return the level of Dr. Rood's blood sugar back down to normal levels. Insulin causes a decrease in blood sugar. This control or "negative feeback" maintains a balance of blood sugar that protects the body from the damaging effects of levels getting too high.

Here is the Graph we were asked to attach that illustrates the negative feedback -

TWELVE SOIL ORDERS OF THE WORLD..and The One I like the Best

This is a link to the 12 Orders of Soil in the World

http://soils.cals.uidaho.edu/soilorders/orders.htm

My Favorite Soil is ANDISOLS. I think it is because of the years we lived in HAWAII. We lived on Oahu. The soil there is so dark and rich looking! I looked up the soils for Hawaii, and the report actually said that for such a small land mass, the Islands of Hawaii have at least 9 to 10 of the 12 soil orders. I am attaching a really informative report I read - it was produced at the University of Hawaii. Here is the link. It has great illustrative CHOROPLETH maps :) , and information about the soils on each island of Hawaii

http://hilo.hawaii.edu/academics/cafnrm/research/documents/hawaii_soils706.pdf

Here are some pictures of the volcano in Hawaii...


  

This was a lava flow trail down to the ocean YEEEEAAAARRRS ago, but now, it is beautiful lush land, with ANDISOL soil :)

I have been here...unbelievable and awesome!!!

Below are general facts about ANDISOLS.
Properties:
A typical soil profile show a thick, dark-colored, greasy mineral horizon (e.g. melanic epipedon), a weakly developed cambic subsurface horizon (Bw), and relatively unaltered volcanic or volcanoclastic parent material
Climate:
Andisols form in all soil moisture and all soil temperature regimes, except pergelic. Formation of Andisols in arid regions is limited because of slow weathering of volcanic parent materials.
Vegetation:
Andisols develop under a variety of vegetation types ranging from coniferous and deciduous forest, tundra, to shrubs.
Relief: 
Andisols are found on any topography, however, often they occur on steep slopes formed by volcanic activity
Parent Material:
 The vast majority of Andisols formed from pyroclastic deposits (volcanic ejecta) such as ash, pumice, cinders, and lava. Volcanic terrains have a greater variety of rock-types than other surface environment on earth. These terrains include lavas, pyroclastic deposits (from explosions), and deposits from a wide range of sedimentary processes that occur in volcanic terrains. The nature of volcanic material ejected from a volcano varies greatly in time and space and determines the size of particles, composition of materials, and depth of volcanic material deposited. Rapid cooling of the molten materials upon ejection prevents crystallization of minerals with long range atomic order, and the resulting product is vitric material or volcanic glass, which are dominated by amorphous, short-range-order minerals.
Distinguishing Characteristics
The geographic distribution of Andisols is closely related to volcanoes that are active or have been active during the Holocene. Soils formed on older volcanic deposits are dominated by crystalline aluminosilicates or the material is mixed with other parent material, therefore, the criteria to qualify for Andisols are not given. Andisols are limited to soils formed on volcanic materials that have weathered enough to produce short-range-order organo-metallic and aluminosilicate compounds, but that have not weathered to the point where crystalline materials predominate or where significant transformations has occured.
Soils from a variety of soil orders may be found on volcanic terrains, but Andisols are almost exclusively confined to the pyroclastic materials. Soils developed in pyroclastic and other fragmental volcanic materials occupy only about 0.8% of the earth's surface. However, because of their very distinct characteristics, they are recognized as a separate soil order in soil taxonomy.
Most Andisols are formed from specific parent material (volcanic ejecta). Few soil orders, except Histosols, have such a specific range of parent materials and depositional environments.
The separation between Spodosols and Andisols is difficult, because short-range order aluminosilicates and organo-metallic complexes occur in the B horizons of soils of both orders. A distinguishing characteristic is the transformations in situ and lack of intensive illuviation of these compounds in Andisols.
**Info retrieved from University of Wisconsin. Here is the link for reference:
http://www.soils.wisc.edu/courses/SS325/soilorders.htm

LAB #4 - Community Gardens and The Dirt We Play In....

We journeyed not too far off the beaten path to Macon Community Gardens for this lab. Here is the link and the picture from their website:

COMMUNITY GARDENS

http://www.maconroots.org/

This organization, founded by Mark Vandenhook (by the way we met him the day we went there), is a great organization encouraging middle Georgians to grow fresh food, and have a sustainable food source for the community. I must say that when we went, the garden seemed a little "thirsty." Some of the produce growing had wilting leaves, and some areas needed some upkeep. Having said that, it was still nice to see that a garden was growing in an urban area.

Speaking of urban areas, we discussed early on in the semester about URBAN SOILS. Urban soils can sometimes contain contaminents (i.e., lead) that may make it a problem to safely grow food in that type of soil. Plants growing in soil will automatically pick up any contaminents and absorb it into their system - - - and so when we eat that produce, we, in turn, eat whatever contaminent the plant has. NOT GOOD! A way to get around that problem, is to grow your garden in a "raised bed" in a box above ground. This way, you can put fresh soil in the box for the plants to grow in. MACON ROOTS Garden did just that. Their gardens are in raised boxes - above ground. There were a variety of fruits, herbs & vegetables growing: Peas, watermelon, eggplant, chili peppers, rosemary (herb), Spearmint (herb), and others.

DIRT
We also learned some cool things about dirt. Dirt is made up of SAND, CLAY, and SILT. We received a handy dandy SOIL TEXTURE DIAGRAM, that illustrated how dirt is mostly made up of clay. The diagram then illustrates throughout the flow chart, several varations combining the three components. We wet a sampling of dirt and used a flow chart called DICHOTOMOUS KEY CHART in order to identify what type of dirt we retrieved.

1. We wet the dirt until it became like a moldy putty ball
2. We tried to make a "ribbon" out of the dirt - a thin strip of the "putty" that could sustain on its own. If it did, there were several more steps to determine what type of dirt we had.
3. The sample we had did not have to go far down the CHART because we could not even make a RIBBON out of it. We determined (after saturating it a bit more with water, that it was a LOAMY SAND.
 Here is an example of someone making the "RIBBON".....
The longer and thinner you can make the RIBBON, the higher percentage of clay you have in the dirt. We could not even get this far with our dirt.

Here is a picture of what we had - except our dirt was much darker than the dirt in this picture.

II. PROBING
We also took samples by using a Soil probe called a SPLIT SPOON CORER.


Our Corer was very similar to this one. You push it directly down into the ground, and when you pull it back up, the dirt is captured in the center section of the corer. This is really cool. You can see the different layers of dirt, and can sometimes see the different colors, and tell the different types of soil present in the soil you just sampled. We mostly saw organic dirt in our sampling, but did find at the deepest part some much brighter red clay dirt.

We did not have one on-site with us, but Dr. Rood told us about the MUNSELL SOIL COLOR CHART. A handy chart that helps identify the type of color soil you have, by placing it right behind the page of colors, and matching it up. Here is a pic of a chart:
   
The second picture of the person using the color chart is not a picture from our lab day, but I just wanted to show how the chart is used to identify the color of soils.

III. SIEVES
We also used SIEVES to identify dirt.

This is a picture of different sized Sieves. Each sieve has a different size strainer in which dirt filters through.The ones we used were stacked, so that the dirt goes in the top sieve, the top is placed over it and you shake. The larger "clay" dirt clumps will stay at the top, and the thinner dirt particles will make their way down through additional sieves, until only the thinnest SAND particles can be seen in the bottom sieve. It was interesting to see. It was also funny - well maybe not so much - when one of the students mistakenly dropped the sieves when we were almost done shaking it. So we had to start over. It was ok, no dirt particles were injured during the fall!

I'm not much of a dirt person, but this was a fun lab, and I did learn alot about dirt. Perhaps I will never look at dirt in the same way again.....I will be immediately trying to identify whether it is Clay, Silt, Sand, or any combination of the three! :)

LAB #3 - Flowers, and Shrubs, and Trees - OH MY!!!!

Our nature walk around campus was very interesting...even though it was a sunny, HOT day! I learned a lot about the plant life around campus, and will probably never look at the landscaping on campus the same!!! Here is my report on 15 plants, trees, shrubs, flowers that we identified and talked about! I will identify the Genus and Species, and then provide a brief description and perhaps a little known fact about them...well little known for everyone - except probably for our Professor!...... Dr. Rood, you know waaaaaayyy too much!!!! (smiles)

1.) GINKGO BILOBA
These are large trees, reaching up to 66=115 ft, but in China, there are some that reach 165 ft. There are GIRL Ginkgo's and BOY Ginkgo's. The Girls do not produce cones, and they STINK! (contain Butanoic Acid). There are some trees living at Temples in China that are believed to be 1,500 years old!
CONSERVATION STATUS: Endangered

  

2.) ALOE VERA
I thought it was very interesting that there would be Aloe Vera growing on campus! Our family have grown and used Aloe Vera for years - primarily for medicinal purposes. It works too! I've used it on scabs to help with healing, and especially on burns - to help sooth, and also for its healing properties. There are over 400 species of Aloe. The genus is native to Africa. Many species are stemless, and grow directly from ground level.
CONSERVATION STATUS: Not Threatened
      

3.) PHLOX PANICULATA (Garden Phlox)
There are 67 different species of the perennial and flowering plant. Most are found in North America. The flowers can be blue, pink, purple and even white....many are fragrant. They can bloom in spring, summer and fall - pretty cool! These are a popular food source for groundhogs, rabbits and deer. Great for landscaping :)
CONSERVATION STATUS: Doing Well. Not Endangered



4.)LAGERSTROEMIA INDICA (Crepe Myrtle)
These are really pretty. This tree is native to China, Korea, and Japan. It is a multi-stemmed tree that has a wide-spreading, flat top, and has an open habitat when mature. The bark is pinkish-grey, and mottled...shedding each year.Many Hybrid Cultivars have been developed. It is a pretty ornamental tree. Found in the South East, from Texas to the Atlantic coast.You can train this to be a shrub (bush) or a tree...
CONSERVATION STATUS: ??
         

5.)  RUELLIA BRITTONIANA (Mexican Petunia)
I found out interesting facts about this plant from The University of Florida's sitehttp://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/node/380
This is what they say about Mexican Petunias:

Mexican petunia is another example of plant that is being sold over the internet and in garden centers as a flowering plant or “handy perennial edging plant for flower beds and as colorful groundcovers”. The problem is that the Mexican petunia is highly invasive and is listed as a Category 1 invasive species by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council. Mexican petunia received this classification because of its invasion and distribution within native plant communities. Mexican petunia can thrive in a range of environments, including flatwoods, hardwood hammocks, prairies, rivers and pastures. The cultivars available for sale in the trade have been selected for their flower color or size (tall or dwarf), however there have been very few research projects dedicated to determining the invasive characteristics of the cultivated varieties.




6.) RHODODENDRON AZALEA (Pentanthera)
Azaleas have been bred for hundreds of years.They are native to several continents including Asia, Europe and North America. They are slow growing and don't need much fertilizer.Planted alot as ornamentals in Southeastern states in America. Human selection has produced over 10,000 different cultivars of this plant/flower.

     

7.) LOROPETALUM CHINENSE("Fringe Flower")
These plants are easy to grow and are great in gardens.Some varieties grow to be large shrubs or small trees.Great for Georgia because it is heat tolerant and drought tolerant. They are native to Southeastern Asia, China and Japan. The flowers are produced in clusters. This is very pretty. I like them alot :) It has a spreading form that may reach a height of 12 ft and width of about 6-7 ft.



8. BRUGMANSIA AUREA ("Angel Trumpet")
This is one of the seven species of this genus. I could not remember what color we saw on campus, so I copied the Yellow flower. I do remember one important fact - DO NOT EAT THEM - They will kill you!!! The plant contains dangerous levels of poison, that can kill humans, pets, livestock. They do have an attractive scent, though.They bloom in late spring and continue into fall. Several hybrids have been cultivated for ornamental plants. This plant is native to the subtropics of South America (Columbia, Chile, Brazil)
CONSERVATION STATUS: The Aurea species is Vulnerable right now.
 

9.) OPHIOPOGON JAPONICUS ("Monkey Grass")
It is often referred to as a weed, but it is not classified as one.It is easy to grow, maintain, and survives in many different climates. This plant is native to Japan. It is a known as an ornamental plant providing excellent ground cover. Chinese medicine quotes that this plant can be used for dry cough, constipation, and stomach problems.
    

10.) MAGNOLIA "Magnolia Tree"
Magnolia has about 210 flowering species.There are about 80 different species of magnolia that are native to the eastern United States and southeastern Asia. Over half of these are in cultivation around the world and many selections and hundreds of named hybrids have been made by breeders seeking better features. Many are everygreen and attractive all year round. The flowers smell SOOO good. When we lived in Hawaii, I used to love to just walk by one - because the perfume in the air was just wonderful - and in Hawaii they are in bloom all year! :)
MAGNOLIA VIRGINIANA pictured below:


        

11.) QUERCUS PHELLO ("Willow Oak")
This tree is also known as peach oak, pin oak, and swamp chestnut oak, grows on a variety of moist alluvial soils, commonly on lands along water courses. Seed production does not start until the tree is about 20 years old. It grows 40-120 feet, and about 35 ft across. This Oak looks different from other oaks because of it's leaves.Instead of having wide leaves with lobes-Willow oak has slender leaves like a willow.Oak has many  
  nt from oaks because of its leaves. Instead of having wide leaves with lobes, Willow Oak has many slen
12.) TOXICODENDRON RADICANS  ("Poison Ivy")
Native to North America, plant that is well known for its production of "urushiol", a clear liquid compound found in its' sap that causes an itching rash in most people who touch it. It grows throughout most of North America, including Canada. Normally found in wooded areas, but can also grow in open, exposed areas.The following four characteristics are sufficient to identify poison ivy in most situations: (a) clusters of three leaves, (b) alternate leaf arrangement, (c) lack of thorns and (d) each group of three leaves grows on its own stalk which connects with the main vine. STAY AWAY :) I've included a pictures of the nastu blisters you can get from exposure to Poison Ivy
  

13. HYDRANDGEA ARBORESCENS "ANNABELLE"
The Annabelle is the best known variety of Hydrangea Arborescens.It produces beautiful white blooms that get to 10" in diameter. Other varieties (Macrophyllas) have pink, blue or purple blooms. Hydrangea are great because they bloom even after severe pruning or after a harsh winter or cold season. They are native to southern and eastern Asia, as well as North and South America. Of course, they are ornamental. In Japan they use the leaves to make a sweet herbal tea

14. NANDINA DOMESTICA ("Heavenly Bamboo")
This plant is a suckering shrub in the Barberry family, Berberidaceae. It is a monotypic genus, with this species as its only member. It is native to eastern Asia from the Himalaya east to Japan. Despite it's common name, it is not a bamboo at all. The leaves are evergreen. The leaves are bright red in spring before turning green. The fruit is a bright red berry. I found Interesting info on its' toxicity:
All parts of the plant are poisonous, containing Hydrocyanic acid, and could potentially be fatal if ingested. The plant is placed in Toxicity Category 4, the category "generally considered non-toxic to humans," however, the berries are considered toxic to cats and grazing animals. The berries also contain alkaloids such as nantenine, which is used in scientific research as an antidote to MDMA. Birds are not affected by these toxins and will disperse the seeds through their droppings.


15.CASTANEA MOLLISSIMA ("Chinese Chestnut Tree")
The Chinese Chestnut (native to China) is currently planted as a replacement for the American Chestnut, which was obliterated by blight in the 1900s.The Chinese Chestnut serves both as an ornamental dark-green shade tree and as a less-risky nut producer, providing its caretaker with pounds of sweet chestnuts to roast, puree, boil and even make gluten-free flour out of. This all-purpose deciduous tree is blight-resistant and prefers moist, acidic, well-drained soils in full sun, but can manage in dry soils of varying pH; hot, arid climates are OK as well.