Figs and their pollen carriers, fig-wasps have become very popular at least among biologists. Their relationship, in which we can see another extremely complicated relationship in nature, contains one of the hidden keys needed for solving the mysteries of co-evolution and the ecosystem.

This mutual relationship is believed to have begun about 90 million years ago, and approximately 750 varieties of figs (Ficus) now thrive. Amazingly, as a new kind of fig evolves, a fig-wasp corresponding to that new kind of fig appears. But a complicated co-evolution like this can be explained by Darwin’s theory of evolution, just as other happenings in nature can. His theory suggests that every creature evolves to leave the largest number of descendants in the next generation.

Plants, which have animals carry their pollen, offer the carriers a reward such as honey, or provide a carrier’s larva with a place to grow. Cabbage leaves rich in nutrition didn’t evolve to be a salad, but to be host food for larva of butterflies that carry cabbage pollen. Unfortunately, such larva become a horticulturist’s enemies.

The relationship between fig and fig-wasps in which an insect carries pollen and its larva eats the fruit is also seen in the cycad group and the yucca plant, a plant growing in arid areas in America. In this relationship, a contradictory relationship exists; that is, more pollen carriers are active more eggs are laid, and therefore more seeds are eaten even though the carriers help the plant bear fruit.

Fig flowers, which have the egg of a fig-wasp become a gall (an insect’s knot), food for larva, and fig flowers which don’t have an egg become seeds if they are pollinated. The number of female fig-wasps that develop into adults and fly out of the fig plant carrying pollen represents the number of carried pollen; that is, the adaptation rate of the male fig (the rate used to measure the size of the population of a certain genetic model in the next generation).

The number of seeds indicates the adaptation rate of a female fig. On the other hand, to become a host plant for male fig-wasps is fruitless for figs because male fig-wasps don’t have wings and can’t carry pollen. Therefore, figs don’t want to have too many male fig-wasps. Ideally, figs want to produce about the same number of female fig-wasps and seeds to create a balance between the number of female fig-wasps and fruit for themselves. On the other hand, fig-wasps want to lay as many eggs as possible to obtain the greatest possible benefit. Both the figs and fig-wasps co-exist by maintaining this subtly balanced relationship.

If the figs have a pollen carrier in all their flowers, no seeds will be left for the next generation. On the contrary, if figs reject pollen carriers too often, there won’t be enough pollen carried out for pollination. They both need to maintain this relationship. Some figs are heterosexual so male figs raise fig-wasps to carry pollen and female figs fruit seeds. Fig-wasps can’t mate in the female fig syconium, but the wasps can’t distinguish a male syconium from a female syconium. And the wasps that unfortunately come into a female syconium only help the fig pollinate.

Throughout the world, figs grow most abundantly in the forest of Ranbil on Borneo Island in Malaysia, and about 80 varieties of figs can be observed there. While we were studying there in 1998, there was a drought, and no fig flowers bloomed during that time. On that occasion, we made an interesting observation that fig-wasps came back right away as the flowers of the homosexual figs revived, but the wasps took two to three years to come back to the flowers of the heterosexual figs. Who knows when a change of weather in the tropical rainforest will create a new condition and give us clues to solve this mystery? I can’t take my eyes off the Ranbil forest.

 

 

 

Hard Chaparral

Chaparral covers about 8.5% of California and is the most characteristic natural vegetative type in the state. It reaches its fullest development in Southern California where it ranges in elevation between 1,000 and 5,000. Annual grasslands and coastal sage scrub occur along its lower limits and its upper limits border on mixed evergreen and coniferous forests. Various types of woodlands bisect hard chaparral in foothill areas and along canyon bottoms.

Chaparral bisected by grassland. The chaparral in the foreground shows a variety of plant species. Soft chaparral is the gray color on the distant hills, and hard chaparral is the dark green color.

The evergreen, stiffly branched shrubs of the true, or hard chaparral are mostly 3 – 10 feet tall. Leaves are small and leathery (sclerophyllous) with thick cuticles. Sometimes the leaves are so reduced as to appear needle-like e.g. Chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum). These are adaptations to reduce evapotranspiration during the dry summer months. Stands of mature chaparral form a dense, almost impenetrable layer with little or no herbaceous understory.

Hard chaparral occurs in a mosaic reflecting fire history. A twenty-year cycle of fire maintains a community of Chamise. In communities with less frequent or more regular burns, Chamise gives way to Ceanothus, mountain mahogany, Sumac, Toyon, and Manzanita . Dwarfed oaks and drought-resistant, closed-cone pines also occur.

Adaptations to drought

Rain generally falls over the winter months in a few intense storms. The effective moisture is drastically reduced by rapid runoff, low moisture retention by soils, high rates of evaporation, and the protracted rainless period each year. To survive, chaparral plants must be adapted to 5 – 6 inches of rain per year and a drought of 5 – 6 months in duration. The dominant species are mostly spring active – they photosynthesize and grow in the spring when after moisture from the winter rains has penetrated far enough into the soil to become available to their roots.

As soil moisture supplies become limited, usually by late June, most chaparral plants enter a summer dormancy phase and operate at 5% of their wet season maximums. The plants are most susceptible to fire at this time.

By retaining their leaves, plants of the hard chaparral are physiologically ready to take advantage of a rare summer thundershower. Within minutes of the moisture being absorbed by the roots, the plants will be photosynthesizing. Their evergreenness makes them opportunists who can use soil moisture as soon as it becomes available. The leaves of the evergreen sclerophyll do not wilt so no part of the new water supply needs to be spent in rehydrating the leaves to maximize light absorption.

Succession and Aging

For the chaparral community, disturbance = diversity. It rapidly recovers from disturbance by fire, erosion or man. Chaparral succession is unique in that it succeeds itself rather than being preceded by other vegetative types. However, grasslands will become the dominant community if the previously chaparral-covered area burns many times within a short period. This reduces the chance of regrowth from burls or from seeds germinating, growing to maturity, and casting their seeds. Tje area is also more prone to invasion from non-native colonizing species.

When a chaparral area is prevented from undergoing burns (because of its proximity to a city for example) the accumulated biomass is so great that when the fire eventually occurs it is hot enough to destroy the underground plant structures that would otherwise guarantee the chaparral’s succession by more chaparral. These underground plant structures include buds on woody tap roots (lignotubers), burls, and underground rhizomes. However, the seeds of the chaparral shrubs remain viable after high-intensity burns and the area will eventually again become a stand of mature chaparral.

Immediately after a disturbance the herbs and forbs initially dominate because of their sheer numbers and showy flowers. Within 2 – 5 years the seedlings of chaparral plants and the shrubs resprouting from their crown roots or burls take over. Their more aggressive root systems exploit deeper water reserves and they will eventually shade out the forbs and grasses and replace them.

Productive growth is maintained in the canopy in mature unburned stands of chaparral. Common plants such as scrub oak, toyon, and holly leaf cherry all require a leaf litter that is at least 30 years old before they will germinate successfully. When the fire interval is short, for example between 10 – 15 years, these shrubs may be eliminated and the whole chaparral system replaced by grassland. Plant growth does not occur under the chaparral canopy due to lack of light, the activity of herbivores, and the fact that the seeds contained in the ground covering leaf litter are dormant.

 

Poisoning from Elderberry Juice — California

On August 26, 1983, eight people with acute gastrointestinal and neurologic symptoms were flown by helicopter to a Monterey, California, hospital. Earlier that day, they had attended a gathering for 25 persons of a religious/philosophic group in a remote area of Monterey County. Within 15 minutes after drinking refreshments, 11 persons began to have nausea and vomiting. The eight persons most ill reported nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and weakness. Some also complained of dizziness and numbness; one was stuporous and was hospitalized.

Arterial blood gases were normal for all eight, as were serum cyanide levels (reported later). The San Francisco Bay Area Regional Poison Control Center was promptly consulted regarding treatment for possible cyanide poisoning, but specific treatment was not given because 4 hours had elapsed since exposure, blood gases were normal, and the patients were stable. All recovered quickly, including the patient hospitalized overnight.

Investigation by the Monterey County Health Department revealed that staff at the religious center had gathered local, wild elderberries 2 days before the outbreak and had prepared juice from them the next day. Bunches of berries were crushed with their leaves and branches in a stainless-steel press.

Apple juice, water, and sugar were added, and the mixture was stored overnight. The drink was served the next day in a stainless-steel pot to the group of 25 persons. The severity of illness correlated with the amount of elderberry juice consumed; those who drank only tea remained well. The hospitalized person had consumed five glasses of the juice; the others, much less.

Editorial Note

Editorial Note: The indigenous elder tree of the western United States, Sambucus mexicana, can grow to 30 feet and produces small (1/4-inch), globular, nearly black berries that can be covered with a white bloom at maturity. The berries are juicy and edible when mature. The cooked berries are commonly eaten in pies and jams, and berry juice can be fermented into wine.

The fresh leaves, flowers, bark, young buds, and roots contain a bitter alkaloid and also a glucoside that, under certain conditions, can produce hydrocyanic acid. The amount of acid produced is usually greatest in young leaves. There may be other toxic constituents in this plant. The root is probably the most poisonous and may be responsible for occasional pig deaths; cattle and sheep have died after eating leaves and young shoots.

Although a review of the medical literature revealed no other reports of elderberry juice poisoning in the past 20 years, there are older, anecdotal reports of poisoning in children from the related elder, S. canadensis. The religious center staff has been advised that, while elderberries may be safe to consume, particularly if cooked (uncooked berries may produce nausea), leaves and stems should not be crushed when making juice.

Reported in California Morbidity (February 24, 1984) by S Kunitz, MD, RJ Melton, MD, T Updyke, Monterey County Health Dept, D Breedlove, PhD, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, SB Werner, MD, California State Dept of Health Svcs. Bibliography Casarett LJ, Doull J, eds. Toxicology: the basic science of poisons. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1975. Kingsbury JM. Poisonous plants in the United States and Canada. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1964. Millspaugh CF. American medicinal plants. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. Muenscher WC. Poisonous plants of the United States. New York: Macmillan Company, 1951. Osol A, Farrar GE. The Dispensatory of the United States of America. 25th ed. Philadelphia: JB Lippincott Company, 1955. Pammel LH. A manual of poisonous plants. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: The Torch Press, 1911.

Marshmallows come from the sweet sap of the ‘Mallow’ Plant that grows in salty marshes near large bodies of water and grows 2 to 4 feet high.

Hence! MARSH + MALLOW = MARSHMALLOW

The ancient Egyptians used the mallow root for making their candied delicacies for their Gods, Nobility, and Pharaohs over 2000 years ago. Since it was a crime for anyone else to eat this sugar-like treat, children looked to honey and figs to cure their sweet tooth.

Egyptian marshmallows were a mixture of Mallow sap, honey, and grains and baked into cakes. The Romans and the Greeks loved the Mallow Plant; they believed that brewed mixtures of the Mallow sap cured soar throats and pains. The sugar mixture was found in Hippocrates’s medical treatments. During the 15th and 16th centuries, marshmallow liquids were given as treatments for toothaches, coughs sore throats indigestion, and diarrhea It was even believed to have been used as a love potion at this time.

It was the French during the 1800s that changed the use of the mallow plant from mainly medicinal to more of a candy consumed by adults. French shop owners discovered that cooking and whipping marshmallow sap with egg whites and corn syrup created an easily moldable substance. This is where the marshmallow as we know it today was born!

In the 1900’s marshmallows were being sold as penny candies in tiny tins. It was at this time that the Boyer Brothers, interested in growing their neighborhood business, started experimenting with marshmallow creme and tried to cover it in chocolate. After many unsuccessful attempts, their mother Emily suggested they put it in a paper cup, using the only thing that they had available- a paper cupcake holder. They tried once more, and… Success! The Mallo Cup was born!

“Do they still make Mallo Cups?” The answer to this is yes and will always be yes! Boyer Candy Company has been proudly making delicious nostalgic candy since the 1930s and has built up a reputation and history just as long and rich as the marshmallow history above! Mallo Cups were the very first cup candy produced in the United States and are still adored by people of all ages. The delicious combination of marshmallow and chocolate has made this nostalgic candy a favorite among all candy lovers.

Mallo Cups have given Boyer Candy Company its place in the wonderful marshmallow history timeline. This delicious and unique candy has been a popular part of candy history since its introduction many, many years ago and remains one of the most popular American-made candies still produced. Some might call Mallo Cups a retro candy, but something this delicious is timeless. Find Mallo Cups and more at BoyerCandies.com today.

Trees help to break down barren rocks into soil, but how does that work exactly? It turns out that tiny fungi living on the trees’ roots do most of the heavy work.

The fungi first bend the structure of certain minerals, weaken their crystals, and then remove any useful chemical elements to pass on to their host tree. During the process, the rocks change their chemistry, lose their strength, and in the long run, become soil.

These hard-working fungi are called mycorrhiza and cover the roots of trees like gloves. They are extremely small and thin, but they are everywhere: ‘it is estimated that every kilogram of soil contains at least 200 km of fungi strands,’ says Dr Steeve Bonneville, from the University of Leeds.

Bonneville explains: ‘Mycorrhiza has a perfect business relationship with plants and especially trees.’ They help the plant to get nutrients from the soil and in return, they receive part of the carbon produced during photosynthesis.

About 90 percent of tree roots in boreal forests have this symbiotic association with mycorrhiza.

Mycorrhiza plays a major role in soil formation, but how do they do it? ‘We created the first experiment that closely copies a natural system to find out how mycorrhiza helps to break down minerals,’ says Professor Liane G. Benning, the Leeds principal investigator of the project.

Together with colleagues at Sheffield, the team planted a Scots pine seedling with the fungi Paxillus involutus, a mycorrhiza species. ‘This is a very common tree-fungi association that occurs naturally in boreal forests,’ says Bonneville. The tree and fungi were allowed to grow together for about 10 weeks and were then placed in a transparent pot with flakes of biotite, a common rock-forming mineral rich in potassium, iron, and magnesium.

The seedling’s roots became covered with fungi, which soon attached to the biotite. After three months, the scientists removed the biotite from the experiment and sampled the crystal along a single strand of fungi-covered root from the tip, middle, and close to the root.

Bend first, steal later

‘The first change we observed in the biotite, at the tip of the mycorrhiza, was mechanical stress,’ says Benning. The fungi can apply pressure onto the minerals that can be as high as the pressure in an average car tyre. This pressure value is ‘very high’, for a tiny organism, but unsurprising to Bonneville: ‘These fungi evolved to penetrate minerals and rocks and some species are capable of even higher pressures.’

As a consequence of the pressure at the tip, the biotite starts to bend and lose its strength. ‘Once the crystal structure is weakened, the chemical changes start,’ explains Benning. The mycorrhiza then proceeds to remove the potassium and other useful nutrients from the biotite, passing them on to the roots and ultimately the tree. Without potassium, the biotite breaks down into vermiculite and ferrihydrate, two minerals common in soils.

The mechanism – bend the structure first, steal nutrients later – is an efficient way for the fungi to break down minerals and at the same time gather essential nutrients for its host tree, write the authors of the report, published in July’s edition of the journal Geology.

‘This is a significant advance on previous simplistic ideas of mineral breakdown,’ says Benning.

S. Bonneville, M.M. Smits, A. Brown, J. Harrington, J.R. Leake, R. Brydson and L.G. Benning. Plant-driven fungal weathering: Early stages of mineral alteration at the nanometer scale Geology July 2009, v. 37, p. 615-618, doi:10.1130/G25699A.1