Pregled posta

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Chloroplast Production; Venation and Nutrient Distribution; Toxicity

I've fallen in love with my colocasia plant. Damaged in someone else's yard, the plant was rescued and given the care it needs to recover. The leaf in this drawing is its first new leaf and has been darkening in color. My limited knowledge of chloroplasts might draw me to the wrong conclusion, but I assume the initial leaf carries a fairly low amount of chlorophyll since chloroplasts are expensive for a plant to make. The leaf can now begin photosynthesis in earnest, providing enough energy and nutrients to allow the plant a greater amount of chlorophyll. Hence the darkening color.
Another noticeable attribute of this plant is the venation in the leaves. There is a pronounced rib running vertically through the leaf, which branches out in to equally pronounced veins that run horizontally toward the edges of the leaf. In turn, you can plainly see smaller veins that can only be compared to veins of the body. The main ribs are arteries carrying nourishment toward the smaller arteries which then distribute nutrients through the smaller veins and capillaries that reach all the way toward the leaf's edge. It's an efficient and elegant distribution method.
The presence of calcium oxalate crystals in the plant's cells mean this is a highly poisonous plant when ingested. Ignorant of that fact and too rushed to research, I took a chance and stuck my tongue in some of the plant's liquid to see if I could detect sweet glucose. About 20 minutes later, my tongue started hurting like hell, prompting me to (finally) research the toxicity of this plant. If boiled, the plant can be ingested harmlessly. Indeed, the nutrient-rich corms of the Colocasia esculenta are edible and sold frozen, bagged in its own juices, or canned. This toxicity would also clearly function as a protective defense mechanism.

I took this photo while I was sitting on the lawn in one area of the Changi Beach Park. I saw this dried leaf which reminded me of my Biology class way back in high-school. Our topic was 'Leaf Venation' and this leaf pretty much sums it all up.