yes! they are all the same species, just different varieties! we’ve been selectively breeding the plant Brassica oleracea– aka wild mustard or wild cabbage- into specific stuff since (historians think) at least Greek and Roman times, which is why they look so dramatically different. people who liked the leaves or the roots or whatever part of the plant best started breeding the plants with bigger/more leaves or roots together. there are actually so many varieties that they need to be put in groups for classification, but some varieties include:
-Kale
-collard greens
-chinese broccoli
-cauliflower
-romanesco broccoli
-broccoflower
-cabbage
-brussels sprouts
-kohlrabi
-broccoli
-that one variety known as jersey cabbage that literally has the nickname “tree cabbage”. these are casually perrenial and also three feet tall:
because why not i guess
this is also an awesome example of ethnobotany, or the study of how people interact with plants and the role they play in our culture!
I love how leftists are oh-so-smug about their support of scientific evidence, then they post images like this and pretend like they’re peer reviewed studies.
I’ll try my best to explain the biochemical differences between genetically altered corn and unmodified corn as well as other variables such as pesticide usage, overall costs, yield and the economic outcomes. Full disclosure, I’m better suited to explain the economic reasoning, but I consulted a biochemist over this who helped me understand the difference between modified and non-modified corn. This biochemist also promised to rip me apart if I get anything wrong, so here goes nothing.
Economically, GMO’s provide higher yields per acre. This isn’t too big of a deal for an industrialized nation like America, but in some countries like India, GMO crops are cutting losses in half.
More food, less hungry people.
So to answer the question, yes, I am smarter than a squirrel.
I wanted to add to this, because GMO’s are so misunderstood and the political controversy that surrounds them is based in scientific illiteracy.
One of the coolest GMO’s I know about is “golden rice.” Vitamin A deficiency is fairly rampant in parts of Asia. When children are deficient in vitamin A it results in blindness. Furthermore, Vitamin A deficiency contributes to 2 million childhood deaths each year (2012 Am J Clin Nutr, 96:658-64). Scientists genetically modified golden rice in order to provide vitamin A.
UNFORTUNATELY political opposition has delayed the release of golden rice for over a decade. And as @libertybill pointed out, no one dies from genetically modified food.
If you are against GMO’s because you think Monsanto is a big baddy (which I’m not going to pretend they haven’t done some asshole-ish things) or you think the GMO is going to cause cancer or some other stupid ass thing, please take time to educate yourself.
One GMO’d super plant = cabbage, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, kale, broccoli, cauliflower.
Brassica oleracea
is a species of plant that, like the apple, has a number of different
cultivars. But these cultivars differ widely from each other: cabbage,
kale, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, collard greens, and
cauliflower. Nutty that all those vegetables come from the same species
of plant. (via @ajsheets)
Instead, Old Hill Ranch bypasses artificial irrigation, and relies on seasonal rainfall and working the soil in such a way that it holds on to water for the drier months.
“The hardest part about dry farming is actually convincing people it works,” Bucklin says. “But in places like Spain, France and Italy, pretty much everybody dry-farms.”
Monkshood (Aconitum napellus) is a Halloween Horror!
There are numerous species in the genus Aconitum found across the northern hemisphere in mountain meadows.
They have a long and storied history and have been known by many names. Names like Devil’s Helmet, Mousebane, Wolfsbane, Leopard’s Bane, Women’s Bane and Queen of all Poisons.
Did you know “bane” comes from old Germanic for DEATH? Later on it came to refer to stuff like poison and it turns out Monkshood is a great, big, horrible poison, capable of killing people within hours by interfering with the rhythm of their beating heart.
Some say it grew from the spittle of Cerberus, guard dog of the Underworld. Others say it was discovered by Hecate, probably the Halloweeniest goddess of them all.
Either way, Monkshood has been used to hunt animals, assassinate Caesars and commit murders for thousands of years and right up to the present day!
The goal was to illustrate a spread for a (fake) book/magazine about unusual produce! I chose the tomatillo as my subject. The images of the tomatillo were all rendered in watercolor.
A good read on the sad state of the Venus Flytrap. Carnivorous plants native to the USA are increasingly close to becoming extinct, for absolutely no logical reason. All are easy to cultivate and readily available for under $10-$20. There is no need to poach whatsoever. Help save North American carnivores—we have more genera of carnivorous plant than ANY other continent, including the tropics.
PiraticOctopus 