BOTANY

Numerous programs covering the world of
botany from the microscopic algae to the
tallest redwood and oldest bristlecone.End-
less fascinating information for the scientist
& amature. GREATLY REDUCED PRICES!

COMPOSITE, ORCHID, LILY & CACTUS
A close look at North American representa- tives of four large, much loved plant fami- lies and how they live. 4 pgms., 80 slides and text. SUPER 50% DISCOUNT!
EP #284 SLIDES
$84.95

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SAVE OVER $85.00 ON 4 SLIDE SET BUNDLE ORDER EP #284X.........$84.95
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THE COMPOSITE FAMILY Slides order #284 ...........$42.50

A survey of one of the largest, yet most recently evolved families of plants. The
highly adapted and successful composite includes such favorites as daisies and asters,
such pests as the common dandelion, and a variety of lesser known and unusual
species. Among the wild composites of North America included are asters, goldenrod,
ragwort, sneezeweed, boneset, yarrow, goat's beard, true and false sunflowers, bear's
foot, hawkweed, dandelion, blue lettuce and blazing star. Habitat, range and flowering
time are given for each species. Leaf, flower arrangement and structure are discussed.
Folklore surrounding the plants and usage in folk medicine is included. 2O slides and
guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 18380 This plant, the golden ragwort or golden groundsel
(Senecio aureus) is a member of one of the largest composite genera. Between 1,500 and 2,000
different species of Senecio are known in the world. Those species found in the U.S. are all small,
herbacious plants, but some African species are trees. The hoary appearance of many of its
members gave the genus its name: Senecio is derived from the Latin senex, meaning old man.

Golden ragwort is found throughout eastern North America, but is most common in the
south. It grows up to two feet high and is found in wet meadows, moist woods and along the
banks of streams. It blooms from April through August.

Poisonous alkaloids are present in golden ragwort. Repeated consumption of the plant
has been known to cause illness and even death in horses and cattle, as the poisonous alkaloid
accumulates within the animals’ bodies. As a folk medicine, in the past it has been used by
humans to treat diarrhea.
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THE CACTUS FAMILY Slides order #281 .........$42.50

Coping with hot, dry habitats. Program surveys these unique plants, most
native to the desert areas of the western U.S., their special characteristics and
adaptations to conserve water. Includes opuntias, chollas, saguaros, euphorbia, details of
spines and leaves, as well as golden hedgehog, furry, paperspine, peanut, boxing gloves,
rainbow and organ pipe cacti. 2O slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 207 Cacti reproduce in two ways. Most frequently seen is
budding. A new little cactus forms, much like a flower bud might, at one of the spine centers or
areoles, the place where new growth occurs, much like a bud on a tree or shrub. After a time the
baby cactus grow one or more roots. Can you see the small root descending here from beneath
the little cactus? If these buds with roots are broken off the parent plant and placed in soil, they
will take root and grow.
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THE LILY FAMILY Slides order #283 .........$42.50

A close look at a number of wild U.S. varieties of this beloved plant family:
fairywand, white camass, fly poison, large-flowered bellwort, wood lily, Canada lily.
Michigan lily, hyacinth, fairybells, rosy twisted-stalk, snow trillium, yellow trillium,
stargrass, white false hellebore, false Solomon's seal, false garlic, wild leek, asparagus,
yucca and sotol. 2O slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 18304 This plant is basically southern in distribution,
occurring from Florida northward to New York on the coastal plain and as far north as West
Virginia in the mountains. Fly poison (Amianthium muscaetoxicum) grows in sandy soil near
bogs, low wet areas, and woodland depressions. Its flowers are white when they first appear in
May and June, but in time they take on the greenish coloration illustrated here.

The leaves and roots of fly-poison also contain poisonous alkaloids and can cause severe
or even fatal poisoning in both humans and cattle if eaten. No one seems to know how the plant
got its name. It is known that if one of the bulbs is crushed in a sugar solution, the solution will
attract and kill flies.

Although nobody really knows why some plants are poisonous and some are not, it is
generally considered that the toxic chemicals produced by poisonous species are simply waste
products or are states in the metabolic process. It is very unlikely that plants produce toxins only
to protect themselves from herbivorous animals, because such protection would not last very long.
For instance, insects, the greatest of all threats to plant life, are able to develop genetic
immunities to various insecticides within a few short years after they become widely used.
Similarly, animal species that regularly fed on certain toxic plants would also be expected to
evolve an immunity over many generations.
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THE ORCHID FAMILY Slides order #282 .........$42.50

A close look at a number of wild U.S. varieties, common and endangered: lady's
slippers, ladies' tresses, rattlesnake, showy, frog, purple-fringed and fringeless,
yellow-fringed, tubercled, rose, spreading and whorled pogonia, Hooker's, three birds,
coralroots, adder's mouth and cranefly orchids. 2O slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: Introduction: The Orchidaceae, or orchid family, contains more
different species of plants than any other plant family in the world except, perhaps, for the
composite family. Recent estimates of the total number of kinds of orchids range from 15,000 to
30,000 species. If the higher number is to be believed, then nearly ten percent of all modern-day
kinds of plants are orchids.

Flowering plants today are divided into two large groupings, the monocotyledons and
dicotyledons. The orchids are the most highly evolved and specialized of all monocots.

All terrestrial orchids are known to live in symbiosis with certain soil fungi. This
association probably begins at germination, when the fungus digests the seed coat and attacks
the tissue within. If the right type of fungus is present, the plant cells are able to deactivate the
fungal mycelia and digest them. Otherwise the orchid is destroyed.

As time passes, the orchid root and fungal mycelia form an interconnected system called
a mycorrhiza. In some cases, the fungus continues to invade the root cells and be digested. In
other cases, special hyphae penetrate the root cells and inject "fungal plasma." The net result is
that the orchid derives a supply of essential nutrients from the fungal associate and is thus able to
develop and grow without appearing above the ground. The fungus probably benefits by obtaining
needed moisture from the orchid root system....
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~1874-068~ Barrel cactus. photo by Charles R. Belinky, Ph.D.

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