Diario de zoozannah

This Saturday I visited the Berkeley Marina and saw a bunch of cool plants and creatures. On this trip, I visited two different ecosystems:

Salt Marsh - We saw many plants, some ladybugs, and spiders. One note worthy creature we saw was a red-eye medusa jelly fish. We supposed it was in the puddle because perhaps a bird picked it up and dropped it there. The plants in the salt marsh have adapted to survive in areas with low soil oxygen content because they are frequently covered in water.

Grassland - In the grassland we saw more plants, particularly some interesting flowering plants like the beautiful California Poppy. Plans in the grassland have adapted to have extensive root systems so that animals cant pull the plant out of the earth easily, which allows them to survive for longer.

This weekend I went to the Briones Regional Park and observed several species of plants and a few other creatures. Briones Regional Park is a hilly grassland with a valleys and a creek. One observation was the invasive species Yellow Starthistle, a dicot with many pedals, that grows thorns to catch on animals in order to spread, or to deter most animals from eating it. Another flower I saw was the Milkmaid a dicot with four white pedals. A third dicot I observed was the Milk Thistle, a thorny flowering plant with many purple pedals. Of the 10+ observations that I made, many of them were flowering plants and the majority of the plant observations were dicots.

On my Trip to the Briones Regional Park, I saw Mugwort. This plant has history recorded dating back to medieval Europe and as early as 3 BCE in China. The plant is used as food and medicine. It's even been used by native Americans; they burn Mugwort to purify the spiritual and physical environment. The leaves of the plant are used in meat rubs for flavor. On WebMD, the roots of Mugwort are listed as a 'tonic' for energy when brewed in a tea. Mugwort is also listed as a antidepressant and is supposed to help women during their menstrual cycle, according to the WebMD article. On the American Cancer Society website, Mugwort is listed as an agent that helps in gastrointestinal problems and might help in with sorts of cancer. Over all, it's really neat to have seen an ancient plant that has so many cool implications casually growing as a weed.

sources:
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-123-MUGWORT.aspx?activeIngredientId=123&activeIngredientName=MUGWORT

http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/herbsvitaminsandminerals/mugwort