Domestic Cattle

Our Domesticated Cattle: Cows

Cattle are the domesticated forms of the once wild aurochs. They have been breed over the ages to give us almost 2000 different breeds today.  Some are bred with wild forms such as yaks or bison to give even more bizzare breeds.  Each breed has unique characteristics that set it apart from others. While there are too many breeds to name each here, we have featured the most common ones to show you the vast diversity in this species.

Cattle Breeds

Africander: Cattle from this breed were bred originally in South Africa, originating from the Hottentot cattle. They have a typical sanga type with a small neck hump, a large dewlap, and lateral horns (although some have no horns). This breed is generally red in color and extremely tolerant of heat. It was imported to the King Ranch and exists in several southern places in the US.

Angus: Cattle from this breed …

Ankole-Watusi: Cattle from this breed …

Aubrac: Cattle from this breed …

Ayrshire: Cattle from this breed …

Barzona: Cattle from this breed …

Beefalo: Cattle from this breed …

Beefmaster: Cattle from this breed …

Belgian Blue: See how Belgian Blues are selectively bred for double-muscling in this video.

Blonde d’Aquitaine: Cattle from this breed …

Quick Cattle Facts

  • The top two beef-producing countries worldwide are the US and Brazil.
  • There are nine states where there are more cattle than humans: Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.
  • Cattle produce about fifteen to twenty gallons of saliva per day.
  • A half ton cow produces 4 tons of manure each year.
  • On average a cow will chew over 40,000 times a day!
  • A family of four could eat hamburgers each day for almost 6 months from a single cow!
  • You can make almost 20 footballs from the leather of a single cow.

Elk

The second largest deer in the world: the Wapiti

The North American Elk is the second largest species of deer in the world, surpassed only by the moose. When Europeans came to the new world, the species Native Americans called the wapiti was an unfamiliar deer-like animal. It reminded them most of the moose, known in Sweden as the “elg” and in Germany as “Elch.”  Thus, the name elk was given to the species Cervus canadensis.

Where do Elk live?

Elk are found throughout North America but mostly in the Rocky Mountains and west of them. If you include the Red deer, which has been recently combined with this species, the range extends to Asia.

What do Elk eat?

Elk forage on grasses, plants, leaves, and bark in the forest and forest-edge habitat. They are one of the few animals to do what is called “barking” where they tear off bits of the bark with their canines.

http://blip.tv/play/geMCgcupZQA

Elk Predators.

Other than humans there are several native North American mammals that prey upon elk. In particular, they are preyed upon by both grizzly and black bears and wolves.  The wolf-elk relationship in Yellowstone is a classic predator-prey example. The predatory action of wolves in Yellowstone help keep elk in more forested areas. Without wolves they spend more time in riverbeds and decreased willow cover. This adversely effects other animals in the ecosystem.

Young calving elk are preyed upon by other predators, particularly bears, canines and cougars.

Antlers

Elk produce giant antlers weighing 40 pounds or more each. Typically they have five points. These antlers, unlike the horns of bovids, are bone that regrow each year. In the winter they drop their antlers and start growing new ones each spring.

http://blip.tv/play/geMCgcupFgA

Bearded Pig

The bearded pig (Sus barbatus), also known as the Bornean bearded pig, is a species of pig in the same genus as our domesticated pigs (Sus). It is threatened in its native habitat on Sumatra, Borneo, and the Malay Peninsula.

The biggest distinguishing feature of these pigs is yellowish whiskers on the side of the face and over the bridge of the nose that form a beard-like appearance.

General Descriptive Features

What do Bearded Pigs eat?

Bearded pigs are considered omnivores, eating a great deal of vegetable matter and meat. In the wild, bearded pigs spend a great deal of time foraging on the forest floor for food. In this habitat they eat mainly roots, shoots, and insects. They especially enjoy fallen fruit and will follow gibbons and other area primates hoping for them to drop fruit. In zoos, bearded pigs are given a variety of food. The Philadelphia Zoo, for example, feeds them a base diet of pellets specifically formulated to meet their nutritional needs. The zoo’s enrichment portion of the diet consists of a variety of root vegetables, fruit and leafy greens.

What eats Bearded Pigs?

Predators like tigers and clouded leopards will take down wild pigs. Humans have also hunted pigs for thousands of years.

Bearded Pig Life History

Little is known about the life expectancy of bearded pigs in the wild. Most agree that it is probably similar to a wild boar’s, which can live on average about 10 years. Some bearded pigs in captivity have made it into their 20s.

Reproductive rates of bearded pigs are much slower than those of the wild boar. Whereas a wild boar might produce litters of up to a dozen, bearded pigs generally have two or three piglets per litter. Females are reproductively mature at 18 months old and gestation is four months.

Bearded pigs range from 3.5 to 5.5 feet in length and are 2.5 to 3 feet tall at the shoulder. The weight of the pigs range from 100 pounds to 300 pounds with an average of 210 pounds.

Observing Bearded Pigs

Zoos and Facilities with Bearded Pigs

Since these pigs are so rare in the wild, most people will never see them in their native habitat. There are a few accredited zoos across the US that have them for display. There are also a few unaccredited zoo’s and facilities that have these pigs, yet we don’t recommend this simply because the pigs are so rare that they need to be carefully breed in cooperation with all the organizations that have them. Decent zoos include the Philadelphia Zoo, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, Tennessee Safari Park, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, Brownsville Zoo, and the San Diego Zoo. They are also kept internationally in around 15 others zoos, including the London Zoo and the Singapore Zoo.

In the Wild

These pigs wander through the forest as a group known as a sounder (an archaic term used to describe a group of wild pigs; most people just call them herds, but we’ll stick the fancy terminology here). These sounders can consist of up to 300 migrating bearded pigs. Most of these pigs are females and young pigs. The males (boars) generally don’t migrate with the main sounder. The groups can be around one day and gone the next.

Even though these pigs live on the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and Sumatra, finding them is a different story. The dense forest they live in might make it tricky to observe. However, I have seen pictures from tourists of Bearded pigs at the Borneo Rainforest Lodge, in the heart of the island’s rainforest.

pig-skull-bearded

More Information on Bearded Pigs

One of the best sources of information on the status of the Bearded Pig is the following report:

Black Willow

Black willow (Salix nigra) is the largest and the only commercially important willow of about 90 species native to North America. It is more distinctly a tree throughout its range than any other native willow; 27 species attain tree size in only part of their range (3). This short-lived, fast-growing tree reaches its maximum size and development in the lower Mississippi River Valley and bottom lands of the Gulf Coastal Plain as can be seen in the short video made by Rob and Hazen (4). Here it forms dense stands that are impede boat navigation. Stringent requirements of seed germination and seedling establishment limit black willow to wet soils near water courses (5). Black willow is used for a variety of wooden products and the tree, with its dense root system, is excellent for stabilizing eroding lands.

http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#geMCkuNaA

Where does Black Willow Grow?

Native Range

The Black Willow is found in the Eastern US as shown from the following map.

Salix_nigra.jpgRange of Black Willow

What area does it grow?

The species is most common on river margins where it occupies and often dominates the lower, wetter, and often less sandy sites. It is also common in swamps and on the banks of bayous, gullies, and drainage ditches where it grows anywhere light and moisture conditions are favorable. It flourishes at, or slightly below, water level and is not appreciably damaged by flooding and silting (4).

Although prevalent along most of the Mississippi River, it produces the largest and best formed trees on very low, moist sites in the batture of the lower river.

Life History

Flowering and Fruiting

Black willow is dioecious. No consistently reliable morphological characteristics are associated with the identification of the sexes. Male and female are indistinguishable except during flowering and seed development. In natural stands the sex ratio is probably 1 to 1, as has been determined for other dioecious tree species, including members of Salicaceae. Flowering begins in February in the southern portion of the range and extends through late June at the northern limits. The many-flowered catkins usually appear at the time of or immediately preceding leafing out. Pollination is mainly by insects; the flowers contain nectar. Pollen is also carried by winds. The seed ripens quickly; 45 to 60 days after pollination the small (3 to 6 mm or 0.12 to 0.24 in) light-brown capsules begin to split open and shed minute green seeds that have a hairy covering.

Vegetative Reproduction

Root stocks of very young willow trees sprout prolifically. Propagation by cuttings is the usual method of artificial regeneration. With adequate moisture, good cuttings, and sufficient cultivation to reduce competition from other vegetation, first-year plantation survival can be close to 100 percent. Post-size willow cuttings have been rooted for use in flood projects to prevent gullies (4).

Interesting Uses of Willow

Willow wood is extremely light with a specific gravity of 0.34 to 0.41), usually straight grained, without characteristic odor or taste, weak in bending, compression, and moderately high in shock resistance. It works well with tools, glues well, and stains and finishes well but is very low in durability.

The wood was once used extensively for artificial limbs, because it is lightweight, doesn’t splinter easily, and holds its shape well. It is still used for boxes and crates, furniture core stock, turned pieces, table tops, slack cooperage, wooden novelties, charcoal, and pulp.

Black willow was a favorite for soil stabilization projects in the early efforts at erosion control. The ease with which the species establishes itself from cuttings continues to make it an excellent tree for revetments.

Ancient pharmacopoeia recognized the bark and leaves of willow as useful in the treatment of rheumatism. In 1829, the natural glucoside salicin was isolated from willow. Today it is the basic ingredient of aspirin, although salicyclic acid is synthesized rather than extracted from its natural state.

 

Useful Literature Cited

1. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Society of American Foresters, Washington, DC. 148 p.

2. Johnson, R. L., and J. S. McKnight. 1969. Benefits from thinning black willow. USDA Forest Service, Research Note SO-89. Southern Forest Experiment Station, New Orleans, LA. 6 p.

3. Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook 541. Washington, DC. 375 p.

4. McKnight, J. S. 1965. Black willow (Salix nigra Marsh.). In Silvics of forest trees of the United States. p. 650-652. H. A. Fowells, comp. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook 271. Washington, DC.

5. McLeod, K. W., and J. K. McPherson. 1972. Factors limiting the distribution of Salix nigra. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 100(2):102-110.

6. Randall, W. K. 1971. Willow clones differ in susceptibility to cottonwood leaf beetle. In Proceedings, Eleventh Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference. Southern Forest Tree Improvement Committee Sponsored Publication 33. p. 108-111. Eastern Tree Seed Laboratory, Macon, GA.

7. Sakai, A., and C. J. Wiser. 1973. Freezing resistance of trees in North America with reference to tree regions. Ecology 54(l):118-126.

8. Taylor, F. W. 1975. Wood property differences between two stands of sycamore and black willow. Wood and Fiber 7(3):187-191.

9. Vines, Robert A. 1960. Trees, shrubs and woody vines of the Southwest. University of Texas Press Austin 1104 p.

 

 

Hydrilla

An Invasive Aquatic Weed

Hydrilla is an invasive weed in the United States and many areas of the world.  It is thought to be native somewhere near India, but now it has a circumglobal distribution.

Description

This plant normally has leaves in whorls of 5. It also has serrations or small spines on the midrib.  When fresh, the plant has a slight reddish tint. Hydrilla is considered the most problematic aquatic plant in the United States, partly because of its fast growth and its ability to regenerate from tubers and fragments.

Where is Hydrilla found?

Hydrilla has been recorded in drainages from more than 18 states. This data (below) from September of 2003 shows considerable coverage in southern states such as Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.  Some areas have had success eradicating the weed, but it still remains a big problem.

hydrilla-map

hydrilla-identification

Biocontrol Efforts

Biocontrol efforts have been extremely successful due to the introduction of a small fly native to Pakistan. This fly, which is believed to be one of the native predators of Hydrilla, is allowing native populations to compete with this invader.

The larvae of the fly bore through the plant, which decreases the plant’s growth and health just enough to allow native plants to compete in watersheds. One place it has been very successful is in the Rio Grande in southern Texas.

Crew Experiences

Rob Nelson: For three years I worked at as a researcher at an aquatic plant research facility in North Texas (LAERF) trying to help understand both how native systems are effected by invasive plants and how to control the spread of these invaders. Probably the worst aquatic plant we had to deal with was Hydrilla. Hydrilla can withstand a drawdown (no water in a pond) for several years; it can withstand intense heat; and it is impossible to get rid of by mechanical extraction alone. We tried chemical means which unfortunately kill the natives as well. We finally tried to examine biocontrol as a viable option to reduce plant stock.

For several years, different controlled and isolated experiments on Hydrilla were conducted with an introduced fly from Pakistan. This fly had larvae that drilled into the hydrilla stems and essentially caused the entire plant to be so severely disabled that it could no longer compete with natives species.

Today the research that has been done through the Army Corp of Engineers in Lewisville and in Vicksburg, Mississippi, has concluded that the fly poses no danger to native populations, and has thus been introduced to several lakes and rivers. One of the best examples of this is the infestation of the Rio Grande River, which has now been successfully controlled.

Links to more information


For more information on this plant or management please contact the US Army Corp of Engineers

Additional Videos by Untamed Science

Eastern Red Cedar

The Eastern Red Cedar is has a considerable history that few know about. It’s also a bit of a misnamed plant; it isn’t even a cedar. It’s a juniper. The name cedar goes all the way back to the first writings of the discovery of the new world in Virginia. They wrote back and described this tree as the most magnificent of all the cedars. Since then the name has lived on, even though botanical experts actually call it a juniper. Thus another names for the plant is the Eastern Juniper.

Growth Forms

The Eastern Red Cedar is a scraggly type tree that has a few different growth forms. In the east, the plant is often tall and erect. In the western part of it’s range, the tree tends to be almost shrub-like.

Identifying this plant

If you’re in the native range of this plant, there are a few things you can look for that make it unique from other conifers that look somewhat similar.

Leaves

The leaves are of two types: Sharp, spreading needle-like juvenile leaves, 5 to 10 cm long, and tightly adpressed scale-like adult leaves, 2 to 4 mm long. They are arranged in opposite decussate pairs or occasionally whorls of three. The photo below shows an adult male tree’s leaves.

redcedar-leaves

Trunk

The bark on the trunk is reddish-brown, fibrous, and peels off in narrow strips.

red-cedar-bark

Berries

Only female trees produce the tiny blue berries. Squeeze them between your fingers and you’ll find a nice little seed. However, juniper “berries” are not true berries. They are cones with unusually fleshy and merged scales.

eastern-redcedar-berries

Where does the eastern red cedar grow?

Natively Juniperus virginiana can be found almost exclusively in the eastern US. The map below was taken from specific county data from Pollenlibrary.com. Individual counties recorded the presence or absence of the tree and marked them on the map. We then took this map and made it graphical. Thus, this map should be one of the most accurate, in terms of current range of the tree.

Eastern-Red-Cedar-map700

History

Pencils!

Back in the day, the Red cedar was the choice for pencils. The wood was great to work with as it was soft and aromatic. The only problem was that they cut down all the red cedar trees in the US by about 1920. Now, they’ve moved on to other trees (and synthetic materials).

eastern-red-cedar-pencil

The Apple Orchard Controversy

Red Cedars are hosts for a disease that inflicts apple orchards.

The Flavor of Gin

You might not be familiar with many recipes that call for juniper berries spices. However, if you’ve ever had gin, then you’re familiar with the taste as pungent and piney. The Juniper berry is what gives gin it’s flavor. However, it should be noted that this particular species of Juniper isn’t where most of the spice comes from; the tastiest juniper berries are said to come from Macedonia and Albania.

Titan Arum

The largest (unbranched) flower inflorescence in the world

The prize for the world’s largest flower can be given to one of many different plants, depending on how you classify flower. Technically the plant with the largest flower is the parasitic Rafflesia arnoldi from Indonesia. The absolute largest flowering inflorescence is the massive terminal stalk that shoots out of the amazonian Talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera). But, the largest, single, unbranched inflorescence goes to the Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum), and it is truly an amazing sight to behold.

What’s in a name? 

The scientific name for the titan arum is Amorphophallus titanum. Its roots are Greek: Amorphos meaning “without form” or “misshapen,” phallos meaning “penis,” and titan meaning “giant.” To explorers trekking through the hot Bornean jungles, the phallic figure of a blooming titan arum may have looked a bit like a misshapen, giant penis. The common name, Titan Arum, refers the fact that it is an giant arum, the name given to members of the family Araceae.

How does the titan arum attract pollinators?

Like the largest single flower, the Rafflesia, the Titan Arum emits an unmistakable corpse-like smell. It attracts putative pollinators, such as carrion beetles and blow flies, that might be looking for a piece of a carrion. A combination of the smell and the heat released by the arum creates a strong attraction for these insects.

Background

The Titan Arum was discovered by Odoardo Beccari in Sumatra in 1878. Corms weighing as much as 100 pounds with a half meter diameter were brought back to botanical gardens. Yet the plant has bloomed very few times in the gardens, and when it does flower, the nearly six-foot yellow-red stalk lasts for only three to four days.

In 2006 a rare botanical flowering event occurred where three Titan Arums flowered at the same time. A study by Barthlott invedstigated the heating of the central column. He showed that the central column would heat up in pulses originating from the base and reach a temperature of 36 degrees.  The following is a picture from that study.

Thermal-images-titan-arum

References and Links


Crew stories

Suze Roots visits a blooming Corpse Flower at Gustavus Adolphus College, July 25, 2010.

building

I visited Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota to see an Amorphophallus titanum, or the Corpse Flower, a rare plant native to Southeast Asia. There are only a few in botanical gardens and greenhouses across the country, so I was super excited that one was blooming close by.

titan-arum1

The whole room reeked of roadkill! The Corpse Flower produces a sulfurous odor to attract fly and beetle pollinators.

This is not the largest flower in the world (that title goes to a member of the genus Rafflesia), but it’s the largest inflorescence, or cluster of flowers, in the world. This plant grew from a seed the size of a walnut that was planted in 1993. This is only the second time that this plant has bloomed in seventeen years because it takes a very long time for the plant to store up enough energy to produce such a large inflorescence! We got there just in time. The inflorescence only lasts about 48 hours. It was already starting to wilt!

SONY DSC

The outer purple sheath is called the spathe, and the tube-like structure is called the spadix. Plants that you’ve probably seen that look similar from the same family (Araceae) are Calla lilies, Anthurium, and Dieffenbachia.

titan-arum-8

I just had to get a closer whiff! It’s amazing that one plant could smell so incredibly rancid! They cut a tiny window into the spathe so we could see (and smell!) the hundreds of male and female flowers. (Right-hand photo: male flowers above, female flowers below)

titan-arum-9

This is another Titan Arum they are growing. I’m looking at the single leaf that this plant produces. When it fully opens it will look like a little palm tree. A single leaf will last a couple of years. Then it will die and another will replace it. This process will continue for about 10 years until it finally flowers!

Picture 2

Scratch “See a Corpse Flower” off the bucket list! What an adventure!

Oyster mushroom

The Oyster mushroom, or Pleurotus ostreatus, is an extremely common edible mushroom and is often grown in growing kits by enthusiasts. It has been cultivated in Asia for centuries and is still used today.  Another common use of the oyster mushroom is for industrial mycoremediation.

Identification of the Oyster Mushroom

pleurotus-ostreatus

  • Cap: 5-25 cm broad, fan or oyster-shaped; Natural specimens
    range from white to gray or tan to dark-brown; margin inrolled when
    young, smooth and often somewhat lobed or wavy. Flesh white, firm,
    varies in thickness due to stipe arrangement.
  • Gills: Gills are white to cream, descend stalk if present. If so, stipe off-center with lateral attachment to wood.
  • Spores: The spores form a white to lilac-gray print on dark media.
  • Stipe: Often absent. When present it is short and thick.
  • Taste: Mild
  • Odor: Often has a mild scent of anise.

Toxic Look-alikes

The only look-alike is Omphalotus nidiformis which grows in Australia and Japan.

Links to More Oyster Mushroom Info

Video Timelapses of Oyster Mushrooms

http://blip.tv/play/geMCgZLiPwA

Ashleaf Maple

Ashleaf Maples (Acer negundo) are also known as Box Elders although this name does a poor job of giving reference to the taxonomic relationships of the species. You see, it’s not an elder. Instead, like other maples, they are in the family Sapindaceae.

http://blip.tv/play/geMCgZW2HgI.html?p=1

Other names

Other names for the tree include include Ash Maple, Ash-leaf Maple, Black Ash, California Boxelder, Cutleaf Maple, Cut-leaved Maple, Negundo Maple, Red River maple, Stinking Ash, Sugar Ash, Three-leaved Maple and Western Boxelder.

The Poison-Ivy Look-alike

Ashleaf Maples are sometimes misidentified by amateur outdoor enthusiasts as poison ivy. The leaf of the tree often has 3 leaflets that resemble those of poison ivy. Ashleaf Maple is in no way dangerous though and it is easily distinguished with a closer look at the plant.

Description

Tree Size: Small short-lived tree that grows from 10 to 2 m tall.  The trunk has as diameter of 30 to 50 cm.

Branch color: Branches are green in color.  Sometimes the bark on the trunk is pale gray or light brown.  Shots are green with a whitish to pink or violet waxy coating when young.

Leaves: Leaves are pinnately compound and usually have from 3 to 5 leaflets.  Sometimes there are seven present but this is rare.  The leaflets are 5-10 cm long and half as wide.  They have serrate margins
(edges).  The color is light green and they turn yellow in the fall.

Flowers:  The flowers are small and appear in the early spring. Seeds are slender, 1-2 cm long and have incurved wings.  They drop on the fall. The plant is dioecious meaning that there are male trees and female trees.

Silver Maple

The silver maple (Acer saccharinum) is sometimes called the white maple, soft maple, silver-leaf maple, river maple, and the creek maple.

Identification with the leaves

The leaves are deeply lobed (much deeper than that of the red maple, with which it can sometimes be confused). The backside of the leaf is white or silvery and sometimes hairy.

silver-maple-leaf

Identification by bark

Silver maples can be identified by their bark as it is fairly distinct. Older trees will have a grayish bark that will flake off to reveal brown spots. Also, broken twigs will have an unpleasant odor to them.

silvermaple-bark

Where is the silver maple found?

The silver maple is an eastern US tree that is extremely common. Observers will occasionally find it in parts of southern and southeastern Canada.

Silver-Maple-Range (1)