Tulip, That's Me!

Don’t mistake me for being ungrateful.  I’m not Dutch nor am I from Holland*.   My origins was faraway in Central Asia – around the Black Sea, Crimea and Northern Steppes of the Caucasus.  These lands were part of the Ottoman Empire then.  Yes, the Turks!  Those were grand days, especially during the time of Suleiman the Magnificent, I was celebrated, courted and became a symbol of wealth & power.  Today I am the national flower of Turkey – what more can a flower ask!  Pssst…I am also very famous at Holland, since late 16th century, and today, droves of people flock to Keukenhof Gardens just to pay me homage!

Let’s talk about now.  My current appearance is not exactly the same as my time during the Ottoman Empire days.  I have been told countless times that I look more beautiful now!  So, here’s the secret…

About me

I was a free spirit - wild and carefree.  No worries about being beautiful.  Ever since I became very popular in Holland back in the 16th century, admirers constantly demand to see a more beautiful me.  So hybridisers worked very hard to do that.  Now there’s so many versions of gorgeous me!  Yes I’m a hybrid, no more the wild tulip.  It doesn’t matter – at least I changed & improved with time!  

Common name :Tulip

Botanical name: Tulipa

Group                 :Bulbous perennial

Flowering time: Usually March to May

Planting time   : October-November

Height               : Varies, from 15cm to 75cm; spread: 15cm

Aspect               : Full sun

Hardiness        : Fully hardy

Difficulty          : Easy

The Hybridisers

What is a hybrid flower?  It’s basically the offspring of two species bred by human manipulation.  This human, aka hybridiser, will manually pollinate the flower to achieve specific results. This will result in flowers bred for certain colours or other desired characteristics.

Humans have their personal groomers or stylists, while flowers have hybridizers to make us look good.  That’s my secret for looking good!  Humans or flowers, don’t we want to look gorgeous?

*Holland

The official name of the country is the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Holland actually only means the two provinces of Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland. However, the name Holland is often used when all of the Netherlands is meant.

** Keukenhof Gardens

A park of more than 7 million flower bulbs that are planted annually. The gardens & four pavilions show a collection of: tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, orchids, roses, carnations, irises, lilies and many other flowers. 

Tulips Videos:

https://youtu.be/QKeyd1_3Ch8

https://youtu.be/jgdtoEfQfZA

Shared by Azni Zainal Abidin

Guest Blogger

Creeping Water!

It’s a hot day, and you’re feeling thirsty. You poke a straw through a packet of iced lemon tea. As you suck the juice up the straw, it coolly flushes your throat and refreshes your body. Ever wondered how plants and trees drink?

In the stems of plants and the trunks of trees are specialized structures that are called the xylem. This structure acts like a straw in plants, whereby it sucks up the water in the soil and channels it upwards to the leaves where they are needed for food processing. Plants don’t take up water through their leaves, but through their roots which is in the ground. 

This action of water travelling upwards against gravity is called capillary action. Water molecules are sometimes attracted to molecules of other materials. This called adhesive forces. As they are attracted to other molecules, for example the molecules of a tissue paper, they will, at the same time, also pull the other water molecules along with them. This attraction of water molecules with themselves is called cohesive forces. Imagine that those water molecules are holding hands with each other. This combination of being attracted to other molecules as well as with themselves is what causes capillary action. 

Capillary action is also essential for the drainage of constantly produced tear fluid from the eye. There is a tiny duct at the inner corner of the eye that sucks up excess tear fluid; otherwise your eyes will be overflowing with tears. Another example is the kerosene lamp that we use for ‘Hari Raya’ celebrations. The kerosene in the container travels upwards in the wick to the top where the flame is. 

Experiment: To observe capillary action

Materials: 

bowl of water, food colouring, paper towel, coffee filter paper.

Steps:

1. Add 2-3 drops of food colouring into the bowl of water.

2. Cut the paper towel and coffee filter paper into strips of 3x15cm.

3. Place a mark on the strips of paper 2cm from the edge.

4. Dip each paper strip straight down into the bowl of water just to the mark.

5. Lift the paper strip and hang it to air dry. Do not let it come into contact with anything else.

6. Measure how far the water rises after 1 minute.

Glossary of terms:

Xylem [zahy-luhm] tissues in plants that conducts water and nutrients

Capillary [kap-uh-ler-ee] a fine tube with a bore

Adhesive  [ad-hee-siv] force between two unlike molecules

Cohesive [koh-hee-siv]force between two like molecules

Duct [duhkt] a tube, canal, or vessel that carries body fluid

Shared by Surain A. Victor
Guest Blogger

https://surainawesome.wordpress.com/

WOOD - Wide Web

Anyone who goes online are familiar with ‘www’ or the world-wide web.  How about the other ‘www’?  
Wood-wide web or mycorrhizal network is akin to the internet.  It’s a living organic network that allows the exchange of information between individual plants.  

Images: Wikimedia Commons

What does the wood-wide web do?  

Similar to the world-wide web, flora are allowed to send & receive information as well as nutrients over distances to other members of the web.  This is done via a web of fine threads called mycelium that links roots to different plants.  It’s a superhighway of fungi & all these happens underground!

Images: Wikimedia Commons - Mycelium

Besides sharing nutrients and information, sabotage too occurs.  This happens when there are unwelcomed plants.  Toxic chemicals are spread through the network to keep it away – nature’s version of cybercrime.  Now you know, it’s not just humans who sabotage each other!

What actually happens in the fungal network?  

Fungi gets its food from plants in the form of carbohydrates.  The fungi in turn help plants suck up water as well as provide nutrients via their mycelia.  This network will also boost the host plants' immune systems by triggering the production of defense-related chemicals. 

So, this indicates that plants are interdependent on each other, and NOT surviving by itself by just meeting its basic needs. 

Shared by Azni

Learning Specialist, Petrosains

Fast Growing Plants

We use catalysts to get faster chemical reactions, growth hormones to stimulate growth & cell reproduction and regeneration in humans or animals, and sometimes fertilisers are added to soil to improve its fertility.

How do we get plants to mature in the shortest possible time?

Pineapples for instance take about 2 years to grow before it could be eaten.  What if we could reduce its growth by a few months?  Can it be done?

Yes we can, and the answer is by tissue culture.  Nothing magical or sinister, it’s just science!

So, what is tissue culture anyway?

Basically it’s just growing tissue (or cells) outside an organism, i.e. in a laboratory container under controlled environment conditions.  Single cells, plant cells without cell walls, pieces of leaves, stems or roots are exposed to specific nutrients, hormones and light under sterile conditions to produce several new plants - each a clone of the original mother plant, over a very short period of time.

How is micropropagation carried out?

The offspring all come from a single plant and have identical genetic make-ups to each other and to the mother plant. They are called clones.

What are the advantages of micropropagation over the conventional method of growing plants?

1. It is fast and produces thousands of plantlets within months. 

2. Healthy plant material is ensured since soil and disease-causing organisms are excluded during the propagation cycle. 

3. The method is programmable as it is independent of seasonal changes and the weather. 

4. It saves an enormous amount of care usually required by cuttings and seedlings (watering, weeding, spraying etc.) 

5. Excess material produced can often be stored over long periods. 

6. Species and cultivars can be stored in small spaces.

Tissue culture is not really new technology as it owes its origin to the ideas of the German scientist, Haberlandt, at the beginning of the 20th century. It has now come to a stage that it is imperative we use more of this technology due to pressing environmental concerns. Changing climate, fast expanding world population and scarcity of food in many parts of the world are major concerns and many scientists believe this is one of the many ways to deal with it.  

So folks, we don’t have to wait too long to enjoy our favourite fruits.  It’s NOT MAGIC but it’s worth the short wait!

This article is written in conjunction with the Science Engagement Session at HotScience, Petrosains from 3-4 May 2014 with Nuclear Malaysia led by Dr. Rusli Ibrahim, Puan Norazlina Noordin & their team.

Shared by Azni
Learning Specialist, Petrosains

Magic In Your Kitchen!

Let's do magic by using something that you can get from your kitchen! But is it really magic or is it science? Science magic tricks look like "magic," but there is a secret behind the special effects. The secret is a scientific principle or concept from maybe chemistry or physics that makes it look like a 'magic' trick. The great thing is these 'magic' tricks can be used to demonstrate or teach a scientific concept like chemistry in a fun way. Here is a science magic trick using 'red cabbage juice' as a natural pH indicator that changes colors according to the acidity and basicity of the solution! 

But how do you do it? Just peel off six red cabbage leaves and put them in a blender filled half full with water. Then pour the purplish cabbage liquid through a strainer to filter out all of the big chunks of cabbage. Keep the red cabbage juice in a bottle and store it in a refrigerator.

Red cabbage contains a water-soluble pigment called anthocyanin that changes color when it is mixed with an acid or base. The pigment turns red in acidic environments and turns bluish-green in alkaline environments. In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of a solution.

Now comes the interesting part! Take a small container and fill it with lemon juice. Add red cabbage juice to the container and notice the colour change to red, which indicates that lemon juice is acidic. Watch the video! 

Next, try doing the same with soap solution in a separate container. Add red cabbage juice to it. Notice how the liquid turns to bluish-green, indicating that the soap solution is alkaline. 

Repeat your experiments! Try it with other solutions like detergents and vinegar. You'll find the answer immediately, as to whether it is acidic or alkaline. Usually, an acid is a substance with a sour taste. It also has a pH value of less than 7. However, an alkaline tastes bitter with a pH greater than 7.

Did you know that plants that have colours have pigments in them? Some plants' pigments can react with acid and alkaline and will change colour accordingly. There are many other plants that can be a natural pH indicator too. Next you can try making natural pH indicators using dragon fruit, black berries, grapes and hibiscus too!  



You can also try this at Petrosains and have fun with our current theme, Nature's Kingdom!

Posted by Ayu
Learning Specialist, Petrosains

Aromaterapi Dalam 'Sudah Gaharu Cendana Pula'

Peribahasa 'Sudah Gaharu Cendana Pula' adalah pembayang kepada baris pemaksud iaitu 'Sudah Tahu Bertanya Pula'. Maksudnya lebih mudah diterangkan mengenai seseorang yang sudah mengetahui tentang sesuatu perkara tetapi pura-pura buat tak tahu malah ingin bertanya lagi.

Kaitan maksud peribahasa ini dapat dilihat dengan jelas daripada perihal gaharu dan cendana. Gaharu dan cendana, kedua-duanya adalah dua jenis tumbuh-tumbuhan yang berbeza atau berlainan spesies tetapi mempunyai persamaan yang ketara dari segi penggunaaannya di mana kedua-dua tumbuhan ini digunakan untuk membuat minyak wangi kerana ia mampu mengeluarkan bau yang harum. Secara fizikalnya, diketahui gaharu adalah lebih wangi dari cendana. Jadi, peribahasa ini mengibaratkan mengapa kita perlu mencari cendana jika sudah memperoleh gaharu.

Pokok gaharu (Aquilaria malaccensis) ataupun 'agarwood' dan turut dikenali sebagai 'oud' merupakan sejenis pokok yang hidup subur di hutan tropika. Semua bahagian pokok gaharu, dari batang, kulit, daun, bunga, buah dan rantingnya digunakan untuk menghasilkan produk minyak wangi. Manakala pokok cendana (Santalum album) ataupun 'sandalwood' ialah sejenis pokok dari keluarga Santalaceae merupakan sejenis tumbuhan parasit iaitu terpaksa menumpang pada tumbuhan lain untuk hidup kerana ia sendiri tidak mampu untuk menyokong pertumbuhannya kerana ia mempunyai sistem akar yang lemah. 

Sekarang, mari kita kupas apa kaitannya peribahasa di atas dengan aromaterapi?Aromaterapi merupakan istilah generik bagi satu jenis rawatan alternatif untuk tujuan tertentu menggunakan bauan aromatik yang diperolehi dari minyak pati dan resin tumbuh-tumbuhan. Bauan aromatik yang dimaksudkan diperolehi secara semulajadi dari sejenis sebatian organik yang dikenali sebagai terpenes.

Terpenes diekstrak melalui  proses penyulingan dan mempunyai sifat mudah meruap. Kayu gaharu berwarna kehitaman dan mengandungi resin khas digunakan untuk membuat minyak wangi dan setanggi manakala kayu cendana yang bewarna kuning digunakan dalam industri wangi-wangian. Dari sudut komposisi kimianya, terpenes merupakan hidrokarbon tidak tepu dan mempunyai formula am ( C5H8 )n. Terpenes mudah diubahsuai secara kimia melalui tindakbalas dengan oksigen di udara. Ini menyebabkan bauan aroma ini akan  turut berubah mengikut masa. 

Sebagai kesimpulannya, tumbuh-tumbuhan lain mungkin mempunyai profil terpenes yang berbeza di mana ia memberikan kepelbagaian aroma  seperti yang boleh diperolehi dari kayu putih, kayu manis, limau dan bunga-bungaan yang  turut diaplikasikan di dalam minyak wangi yang sering kita gunakan seharian.

Posted by Ayu
Learning Specialist, Petrosains