This week in the world of gardening, the US government steps up to save the monarch butterflies, LA's Getty Center considers salad-making a performance art, and humans have been keeping bees for 9,000 years.
UK’s Oldest Tree May Be Switching Sex
Above: A male yew tree shedding pollen. Photo via National Education Network.
The UK's oldest tree, the Fortingall Yew in Scotland, has surprised scientists by producing berries—a hallmark of female trees. The 3,000- to 5,000-year-old yew has until now been considered male; a scientist at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh said that yew trees are normally easy to identify by gender, and the Fortingall has the pollen-releasing structures known to male trees. It's not unheard of, however, for yew trees to fluctuate in gender. "Odd as it may seem, yews, and many other conifers that have separate sexes, have been observed to switch sex," he said, noting that it's not fully understood by science. Read it at BBC News.
Bees Have Helped Humans Since the Stone Age
Above: A beekeeping portrayal from a 10th-century Byzantine text. Image via Medievalists.
Scientists have analyzed beeswax residue inside archeological artifacts to determine that humans have been exploiting bees for around 9,000 years. Researchers surveyed artifacts in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, and published their findings this week in the journal Nature. Early bee farmers likely used bees for honey in addition to beeswax for cosmetics, fuel, and medicine. Read it at Scientific American.
US Government Helps Monarchs, and Be Careful Which Milkweed You Choose
Above: Swamp milkweed by Tom Potterfield via Flickr.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the US Department of Agriculture has made $4 million available to farmers in ten states to help them plant milkweed and other nectar-rich plants helpful to monarch butterflies. Farmers in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin are eligible for funding.
Monarchs are dependent on milkweed for their survival—it is the only plant on which the monarchs lay eggs and it helps make the butterflies toxic to predators—but Science magazine reports that planting non-native milkweed does more harm than good. Among several issues, the non-native varieties contain parasites that shorten the lifespan of the butterflies. (Use a Milkweed Seed Finder to locate a species native to your area.)
The "Bio-Euphoric" Effects of Gardening
Above: Gardener Sarah Raven planting bulbs, via 10 Easy Pieces: Bulb Planters.
Physician and University of California, San Francisco professor Daphne Miller cites a litany of research into the possible explanations for what she calls the "bio-euphoric" effects of gardening—that is, improved mental health and reduced feelings of anxiety and depression. Meanwhile, researchers at Westminster and Essex universities in the UK have demonstrated that people who work in community gardens at least 30 minutes per week enjoy better physical and mental health than their peers. Read the stories at Yes! Magazine and GOOD.
Salad as Contemporary Art
Above: The Getty Center salad garden. Photo via LA Times.
Now through January 11, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles is hosting a Salad Garden performance art stage, in which artists make and eat salads from more than 50 lettuces, herbs, and flowers growing on-site. Coordinating artist Julia Sherman says that the diversity and uncommonness of the plants is key to the art. "Even if artists come with a plan ahead of time, there's a certain element of chance and improvisation that necessarily happens on site." Read it at NPR.
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