April showers bring May flowers, they say. Some of these flowers are pretty amazing. Here’s an Internet scavenger hunt that will help you learn some fun flower facts.
What is the world’s largest flower?
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/flower.htmlÂ
Answer: The Rafflesia arnoldii grows in the rainforests of Indonesia, and it can grow to be bigger than a car tire — three feet across and 15 pounds in weight. It also smells like rotten meat in order to attract bugs.
What is the tallest flower?
http://www.news.wisc.edu/titanarum2005/
Another giant flower also uses a rotten smell to attract bugs. The smell is bad that it is called the Corpse Flower. At the UW-Madison botany lab, the raised one the called Big Bucky that attracted large crowds when it finally bloomed. Big Bucky grew to be almost 100 inches tall!
Does Poison Ivy have flowers?
http://www.poison-ivy.org
Yes, but this is one flower you won’t want to pick, especially if you are allergic to Poison Ivy. The blooms are very tiny and turn into berries. Note that this is a commercial web site, despite the .org URL. It is run by a guy who wants to sell you books and quiz materials to identify Poison Ivy. Also, some of the pictures of people with poison ivy are pretty gross. But the site is very informative.
How do I make a flower garden?
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/firstgarden/basics/index.html
At the University of Illinois Extension website, you learn how to think like a plant, which helps you plan the perfect garden.
How many kinds of daffodils are there?
http://daffodilusa.org
A lot! And some have more than one color. According to the American Daffodil Society, over 13,000 varieties that have been identified, based on the twelve divisions of the official classification.
Is a Venus Fly Trap a Flower?
http://www.botany.org/carnivorous plants/
According to the Botanical Society of America, the mysterious Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is more of a curious leaf than a flower. It is able to grow in low-nutrient dirt by trapping and digesting insects or small frogs that might be attracted to their nasty smell. The traps work in a variety of ways. Pitfall traps of pitcher plants are leaves folded into deep, slippery pools filled with digestive juices. Flypaper (or sticky or adhesive traps) are stalks that trap insects in their slime. Snap traps (or steel traps) of the Venus flytrap and waterwheel plant are hinged leaves that snap shut when trigger hairs are touched.
Cook Up Some Flower Food!
According to http://www.flowersforkids.org the best flower food comes in the little packets that come packaged with your flowers, but you can also make your own with this recipe.
For every quart of fresh water, add:
- 1 tablespoon of sugar,
- 1 teaspoon of something sour (lemon juice or vinegar),
- Mix well and add your “just cut” flowers to enjoy their beauty even longer.
