The Adventure to: Planet Plant

Starters: What does mash-up mean? According to the dictionary, it means  "a creative combination or mixing of content from different sources ". It also says that it is usually for music and movies. But get this: It appears that it is also for the plants! Who would have thought of that, right?! It is such a great discovery! You can "mash-up" different kinds of plants out of different species and produce a whole new living creation! I bet you're amused and is speachless out of awe. Hungry for more knowledge for these mash-ups? Well, lucky for you because you are in the right page! We, the Earth Trotters, grabbed the opportunity to document all these amazing and incredible facts about plant "mash-ups" while we were in Institute of Plant Breeding! So starve no more, because now, we will be feeding your grumbling brain with nurturing information all about plants!

The Appetizer: So first of all, what did we expect to learn? Since we've never went to IPB, we expected to learn about plant reproduction. We also expected to learn about unfamiliar facts about plants. Funny though, it never occurred to us that what they had in store for us were about cross-breeding, and facts about some of the unique products that they are marketing.

Abaca

The Main Dish: Inside IPB were different kinds of plants. Everyone admired their exquisite beauty. Finally, our "tour guide" arrived, excited to teach us a lot of things about the different plants. During the stay, she taught us about the cross-breed of two related plants; the Musa texilis (abaca), and  the Musa acuminata (banana). What was the importance of their cross-breed? Well, you see, a virus in abaca causes it to have a disease.  Because of this, the abaca can be very weak. That is why IPB tries to prevent this disease from spreading to other abaca plants through cross-breeding. Since bananas are high in fiber, and fiber is needed in order for the  abaca to be immune, they cross-breed these two plants to produce a stronger,healthier and better abaca. How amusing isn't it? Aside from this, our comprehensive tour guide taught us about Simple Nutrition Addition Program (SNAP). This is an eco-friendly way to make plants grow. It is "soil less", and it is very helpful to our environment because it makes use of our wastes. It also adds more nutrition for the plants! 

The dessert: We're sure that after the "Main Dish", your brain is still hungry for more. Well,we've got it covered! Introducing... some of the amazing plants (and food) in IPB!  

In the hallway: The Black Bamboo

The black Beauty

This, my friend, is the large-sized Gigantochloa atroviolaceae, or commonly known as the black bamboo. Among all the bamboos, it is the only plant that is black, and trust us, it is very captivating and attracting. No wonder it is used for furnitures,musical instruments (like the angklung) and handicrafts! Aside from this, not only can you admire its exotic beauty, but also its "service" to biodiversity,   both economically and ecologically. It is used for shelter for some organisms,it is a producer, it balances the ecosystem, it is used for landscaping materials in large parks or gardens and, it is also for building.  

Below is the taxonomic classification of the plant:

Kingdom: Plantae   Divison: Angiospermophyta      Class: Monocotyledonnes  Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Genus: Gigantochloa 

Species: G. atroviolaceae

The mouth-watering cassava

A delicious treat!

 Yes, it is indeed the mouth-watering indulgence! The cassava cake! One of the best desserts served in this post!We're pretty sure that you're salivating right now, so let us feed your brain with a taste of the facts of this 

delicious cassava!

The perennial woody shrub Manihot esculenta (cassava) originated in Brazil and Paraguay. It is grown for its enlarged starch-filled roots, and is famous for the presence of free and bound cyanogenic glucosides. Cyanogenic glucosides are phytoanticipins that make the cassava taste bitter.This makes the cassava resistant from herbivores like spider mites. 
Aside from its sweetness that most people enjoy, cassava is also very useful to the environment. It does not tolerate flooding,it is a producer and when it is drought, its leaves are lost in order to conserve moisture.


Its taxonomic classification:


Kingdom: Plantae Division: Angiospermophyta Class: Eudicotyledonnes   Order: Rosidae Family: Euphorbiaceae Genus: Manihot Species: M. esculenta

Recognize the picture in the right? If you are guessing that it is just a regular corn,well, dear reader, 

you are mistaken. This is not just any corn.Like the Black Bamboo, it is unique for its color. This corn is 

not yellow, but instead, it is white. 

The White kernels 

Zea mays (White corn)(producer) is a type of corn that 

has quality protein and is high in lysene (more than the 

other corns).Because of this, IPB thought of an excellent 

idea to use it as a substitute for rice, especially since 

not enough rice can feed more than 90 million mouths. 

You might be thinking that it probably is not as good as rice,

but they said that once you get use to it, you probably will 

enjoy it. Still not convinced? Okay, maybe the following 

facts might allure you to give these white kernels 

a chance.

Taxonomic classification:


Kingdom: Plantae Division: Angiospermophyta Class: Monocotyledonnes Family: Poaceae 
Genus: Zea  Species: Z. mays


This special type of corn is good for the body because it said that it reduces
 food cravings. Also, it has a low glycemic index, which means that there is a lesser chance that it will 
higher blood sugar level. Aside from this, white corn does not really need irrigation, since it is rain fed. So 
this concludes that more money is saved for all the other basic needs of the people that needs to be 
met.


If IPB will be successful on promoting white corn as a substitute for rice, then there is a better 
possibility that our economy will improve. More importantly, more Filipinos will be fed and a 
health-conscious society will be developed.


 The End of the Meal: Moving on! Well, dear reader, we are sad to say that this post is about to end. 
But don't worry! Because here are more plants that were results of Hibiscus Hybrids! 
(a name of plants that were results of cross-breeds) This type of cross breed enables some 
flowers to produce more colors in order to bloom and glow. We hope you are amazed by their
exquisite beauty!
(note: The names of these flowering plants are based on some famous icons)

 Anyway, we hope that your brain was completely satisfied and was filled with the incredible facts we gave. But just in case that it is still hungry and eager for more, we still have a lot of interesting facts coming up about three of our different adventures in UPLB. 


So stay tuned!And remember, protect these precious living things, for they are valuable treasures that play a big part in our biodiversity!

-The Earth Trotters