Common Name: California Buckeye
Scientific Name: Aesculus californica
Angiosperm or Gymnosperm?: Angiosperm
Brief Description: This tree is tall. It is poisonous. Don't eat from it.
Scientific Name: Aesculus californica
Angiosperm or Gymnosperm?: Angiosperm
Brief Description: This tree is tall. It is poisonous. Don't eat from it.
Ethnobotony: They are symmetrical, and can be a
multi trunked tree or a shrub. This is why they are used for landscaping. The
seeds are toxic. However, Native Americans would boil them first to remove the
toxins, then make flower. The seeds were also ground up and thrown into water to
make fish sick and float to the surface to be easily caught. Authors Eduardo Mendoza and
Rodolfo Dirzo of the American
Journal of Botany did extensive research into the effectiveness of the poison
that the trees have. They concluded that it is an effective means of resistance
to animals easting the reproductive seeds. Their work was published
by the Botanical Society of America
in 2009.
Researchers David Robinson, inma Lebron, and Jose
Querejeta have investigated the conditions required for The California Buckeye
to grow on a savanna. Their investigation of the factors that determine grass
and tree distribution showed that the Trees needed soil with more clay than the
grass. Their methodology was unique, and gave new insight into the trees and the
ecosystem overall. (Robinson and Lebron 2010)
multi trunked tree or a shrub. This is why they are used for landscaping. The
seeds are toxic. However, Native Americans would boil them first to remove the
toxins, then make flower. The seeds were also ground up and thrown into water to
make fish sick and float to the surface to be easily caught. Authors Eduardo Mendoza and
Rodolfo Dirzo of the American
Journal of Botany did extensive research into the effectiveness of the poison
that the trees have. They concluded that it is an effective means of resistance
to animals easting the reproductive seeds. Their work was published
by the Botanical Society of America
in 2009.
Researchers David Robinson, inma Lebron, and Jose
Querejeta have investigated the conditions required for The California Buckeye
to grow on a savanna. Their investigation of the factors that determine grass
and tree distribution showed that the Trees needed soil with more clay than the
grass. Their methodology was unique, and gave new insight into the trees and the
ecosystem overall. (Robinson and Lebron 2010)
Natural Habitat: California savannas
Leaves: Opposite, deciduous (sheds leaves annually),
palmate compound (a leaf composed of a number of leaflets on the same common
stem), usually 5 leaflets 4-6 inches long with 1.5-2 inches wide, serrated
margins, dark green above and pale below.
palmate compound (a leaf composed of a number of leaflets on the same common
stem), usually 5 leaflets 4-6 inches long with 1.5-2 inches wide, serrated
margins, dark green above and pale below.
Bark: is 1-11/2 inches thick, smooth and gray.
Germination/Pollination: The seeds are similar in appearance to chestnuts
and are left behind from the round fruit by squirrels and deer. They stay on the
ground to germinate or to decompose where they are left. (germination: how seeds or spores sprout and start
growing).
and are left behind from the round fruit by squirrels and deer. They stay on the
ground to germinate or to decompose where they are left. (germination: how seeds or spores sprout and start
growing).
Plants/Animals: Chipmunks and squirrels eat from
the tree, and leave behind the seeds.
the tree, and leave behind the seeds.
Creative Writing
It had been three days since he had last eaten. He was lost in the wilderness. His car had stalled down a stretch of California road in the middle of nowhere. Daniels faith in his survival skills was much to strong. There was nothing but grass and trees and snow in every direction.
This was not the California of the cinema. This was northern California close to the Oregon border. Towns are few and far between. The likelihood of help driving by was low, and there is no cell reception. He decided to take the trek into the vast snow-covered no-man’s-land alone.
He had always loved hiking and camping. As he clutched his aching stomach he recalled the exiting times that he had with his friends hunting and rock climbing. He could barely feel his toes, and constantly wiggled his fingers to maintain blood-flow as he made his way up a gargantuan hill toward the north. Little did he know, the nearest town was two miles west.
As he neared the top of the hill, he saw a tree just over the other side. Small orbs of brown fruit dangled from outstretched branches. There were multiple extensions of the plant separating from the main trunk. They twisted out in every direction. He eyed the brown fruit.
On any other day, he would have ignored the tree. His hunger turned an average tree to an oasis. The folly of Daniel would lead him to an excruciating painful death.
Hours later, he laid writhing with pain feet away from the tree. His belly belf as though it was going to explode and he had broken out into a fever. He ate the lethal fruit of the tree. Its seeds are poisonous. One fruit cannot kill, but the twelve he had eaten in addition to his dehydration and hunger would more than suffice.
He drew his last breath and cursed as his soul ascended from his body, and Daniel was no more.
It had been three days since he had last eaten. He was lost in the wilderness. His car had stalled down a stretch of California road in the middle of nowhere. Daniels faith in his survival skills was much to strong. There was nothing but grass and trees and snow in every direction.
This was not the California of the cinema. This was northern California close to the Oregon border. Towns are few and far between. The likelihood of help driving by was low, and there is no cell reception. He decided to take the trek into the vast snow-covered no-man’s-land alone.
He had always loved hiking and camping. As he clutched his aching stomach he recalled the exiting times that he had with his friends hunting and rock climbing. He could barely feel his toes, and constantly wiggled his fingers to maintain blood-flow as he made his way up a gargantuan hill toward the north. Little did he know, the nearest town was two miles west.
As he neared the top of the hill, he saw a tree just over the other side. Small orbs of brown fruit dangled from outstretched branches. There were multiple extensions of the plant separating from the main trunk. They twisted out in every direction. He eyed the brown fruit.
On any other day, he would have ignored the tree. His hunger turned an average tree to an oasis. The folly of Daniel would lead him to an excruciating painful death.
Hours later, he laid writhing with pain feet away from the tree. His belly belf as though it was going to explode and he had broken out into a fever. He ate the lethal fruit of the tree. Its seeds are poisonous. One fruit cannot kill, but the twelve he had eaten in addition to his dehydration and hunger would more than suffice.
He drew his last breath and cursed as his soul ascended from his body, and Daniel was no more.
Bibliography
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