Characters and Traits

Throughout the hike at Brione's Park, one of the characteristics we most practiced identifying were dicots, which can be described as have reticulated veins in the leaf and producing flowering parts in multiples of fours or fives, vs monocots, characterized by parallel veins in major leaves and flowering parts in multiples of threes. For example, the California bay is considered a dicot. Other characteristics that I focused on where color. The California bay tree had multiple spots throughout its leaves, which marked it as a fungus. Flowers also stood out because of their bright colors, and sometimes fragrance, such as the buttercups, california poppy, and the shooting star. It can be hypothesized that their appealing colors and smells can be so that they can attract insects and other animals to spread their seeds and pollenate each other, therefore spreading their species for greater survival success. As for butterflies, bright colors may indicate key characteristics to attract mates, serve as camouflage within the vibrant colors of flowers as well as warnings against predators that, for example, they may be poisonous. Most diversity of plants and animals was located on a north facing slope where more shading and thus more protection against hotter and drier climate, was present.

Posted on 20 March, 2014 17:22 by gabbyp