28)+Lavender

=Lavender=

Genus:// Lavandula //

Family:Lamiacea

Podcast Podcast script

This lavender plant was found growing in my backyard. It possesses light green leaves and bark that is ridged and varies in color from light brown to dark brown. The plant is approximately 2 feet tall and 3.5 feet wide.
 * [[image:lavender_whole.JPG width="240" height="180" caption="A large, flowering lavender plant" link="http://davincitree.wikispaces.com/file/detail/lavender_whole.JPG"]] || [[image:lavender_leaves.JPG width="240" height="180" caption="Leaves and stem of the lavender, in which the square stem and lanceolate leaves are clearly visible" link="http://davincitree.wikispaces.com/file/detail/lavender_leaves.JPG"]] ||
 * [[image:lavender_bark.JPG width="240" height="180" caption="Lavender bark is very rough and ridged" link="http://davincitree.wikispaces.com/file/detail/lavender_bark.JPG"]] || [[image:lavender_flower.JPG width="240" height="180" caption="The four-petal light purple flower" link="http://davincitree.wikispaces.com/file/detail/lavender_flower.JPG"]] ||

Classification:
Lavenders are monoecious angiosperms. Lavender is a eudicot, or "true dicot", and is herbaceous. //Lavandula// reproduce by producing small, brown seeds in an inferior ovary

Family characteristics:
Lavender belongs to the family **Lamiaceae,** commonly known as the mint family. Plants in this family typically have bilaterally symmetrical flowers with 5 petals and 5 sepals.The stems of Lamiaceae are frequently, but not always, square in cross-section. Other characteristics include:


 * Opposite, lanceolate leaves
 * Variable number of usually light-blue("lavender") colored small flowers

Size:
Mature plants typically range from 2 to 3 feet in height

Identifying features:
The lavender plant is located in a planter box next to the Da Vinci parking lot. It currently bears purple flowers with four petals apiece. The stems are square-shaped, flexible, and soft to thetouch. The lanceolate leaves are psoitioned in an opposite pattern and are also covered in fine, white hair, which makes them soft to the touch. All the stems connect to one of several central "trunks", which are woody and ridigid. The plant is approximately 1.5 feet long, and sprawls along the ground.

Location Requirements:
Lavender, as a plant native to the Mediterranean, thrives best in warm weather, with full sun or partial afternoon shade in particularly warm areas. The specific temperature requirements vary between species, but lavender in general can grow in USDA hardiness zones 5-11.Lavender is drought-tolerant, but highly susceptible to the growth of root fungus. For this reason, lavender requires loose soil and good drainage, and should be watered regularly but not soaked.

The growing environment of Davis is in most ways ideal for lavender. The typically hot summers and mild winters(Davis is in hardiness zone 9), along with low levels of precipitation, mean that lavender can thrive in the Davis climate. However, the clay soil of Davis tends to retain water for longer than ideal, therefore increasing the risk of root rot. Adding organic matter or pumice stones can reduce this risk by decreasing the density of the soil.

Reproduction:
Lavender pollen is transmitted primarily by pollinator insects such as honeybees. As a monecious angiosperm, it has a number of charictaristics in its reproduction which include relatively small stamens and gameteophytes, which increase the speed at which fertilization occurs and decreases the rate of self-pollination, which is inefficient for a sexually reproducing plant. Lavender does not produce a fruit, but does produce seeds containing endosperm. Lavender typically flowers from late spring to late summer, although this depends on the temperature where it is grown.

The process of reproduction begins when a grain of pollen is transmitted from one plant's stamen to another plant's stigma by means of a polinating insect. When a grain of pollen encounters the stigma, some parts of the pollen grain dissolve and the sperm is able to move.The sperm cell divides by mitosis(making an exact copy of its genetic material), and begins to move down the pollen tube of the flower, following a gradient of a particular chemical. Inside the ovary, an egg is fertilized by one of the sperm cells, while the other sperm fertilizes a diploid cell destined to become the endosperm of the seed(thus making it a triploid cell). The seed develops through division of the egg and endosperm cells, eventually resulting in the formation of a dicot seed.

Sources:
http://home.intekom.com/herbsorganic/working%20on/Lavender/Lavender%20information.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavender

http://www.aromatherapy-at-home.com/lavendergardening.html

http://www.ehow.com/way_5280214_time-plant-lavender.html

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:NT4HjOZUaVsJ:www.villagenurseries.com/images/pdf/gallery/Lavandula.pdf+lavandula+flower&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

http://landscaping.about.com/cs/flowerseed/p/lavender.htm

http://organicgardening.about.com/od/soil/a/improveclaysoil.htm

http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/A/Angiosperm.html

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081029211511AA6u2Tt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowering_plant

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Created by:Nathan Whitmore