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Strategic plan targets invasive species
The Superior Daily Telegram (11/17)
Douglas County’s Land Conservation Committee is forwarding a plan to the county board that takes aim at invasive species.
Mich. Clean Marina Program: Public-private partners work together to improve water quality
Grand Rapids Environmental News Examiner (11/9)
Partners from the public and private sector in Michigan are working together in a voluntary program to improve the quality of the Great Lakes.
Researchers seek funding for wind test site in Lake Michigan
Grand Rapids Environmental News Examiner (11/7)
In a recent article in The Muskegon Chronicle, it was reported that researchers at Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC) cited a lack of year-around data (on wind platform testing) needed by prospective development companies.
COMMENTARY: Senate needs to pass clean energy act to help Michigan
The Grand Rapids Press (10/26)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was absolutely correct with his recent proclamation about the current condition of the Great Lakes State: "The State of Michigan," Reid declared from the Senate Floor, with a copy Time Magazine in his hand, "is in trouble."
First Nation women 'walk the environmental talk'
WeNews (10/23)
Tomorrow's global day of climate activism aims for media and political attention. First Nation women have another way. Since 2003, they've walked the shoreline of a Great Lake or major river, meditating on the needs of an unborn generation.
City making big push for water school
The Business Journal (10/23)
The push is on to convince the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that the best location for its new School of Freshwater Sciences is near the university’s existing Great Lakes Water Institute on East Greenfield Avenue.
What's going on in your neighborhood this month? Meet other people and learn together at recreational and educational events! Our new dynamic calendar is updated daily with current educational events.
What is flora?
Brief floral history of the Great Lakes basin
The importance of native landscaping
Native plant species of the Great Lakes region
Some resources for starting your own native plant garden
Native flora fun facts!
Take a quiz!
References
What is flora?
Flora was once known as the Roman goddess of flowers, though today we use the term to
refer to plant life, including trees. We'll be focusing on vascular plants, which have specialized
supporting and water-conducting tissue called xylem
and phloem, and typically possess roots, stems
and leaves. Nonvascular plants, such as mosses, lack an internal conducting system for water and
nutrients, so they depend on their immediate surroundings for moisture.
To be considered a plant, an organism must possess certain characteristics: photosynthesis, cellulose, stationary existence and lack a nervous system.
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants transform energy from the sun into the energy they need to survive. Through photosynthesis, plants are able to convert water, carbon dioxide and minerals into oxygen and energy. Without photosynthesis, there would be little food or other organic matter on Earth; the air would be full of carbon dioxide; and most organisms, including humans, would disappear.
Cellulose is the basic structural component of plant cell walls,
making them rigid and "boxed" shaped. Enabling the leaves and stems of a plant to stand up
straight is an important function of cellulose. Plants also lack the means to move on their own as
well as a nervous system. The nervous system is a group of organized cells that allow an organism to
respond to sensory impulses.
Vascular plants are classified as either gymnosperms or angiosperms. Gymnosperms, meaning "naked seed," have an exposed seed, which can also include a pinecone. Softwood trees, such as conifers, are examples of gymnosperms. Angiosperms, meaning "hidden seed," include 80 percent of the Earth's plants, including all flowering plants. The seeds of angiosperms are enclosed within fruits, often called ovaries. In addition to flowering plants, hardwood trees, such as oak, maple, hickory, birch and poplar, are classified as angiosperms.
Graphics: snow trillium (credit: USDA PLANTS database); xylem and phloem model (credit: Britannica.com)
