This week’s mystery seeds are also black, and seem to have two marks. They are about the size of a watermelon seed.
I found these on the ground at a gourd show, but the plants they grow into are not gourds. Can you guess what fascinating plant these seeds are from?
Edit:Â The answer is now posted.
We found the seeds for mystery seed last week in an unusual place. I noticed that the dried catnip (Nepeta cataria) we had purchased looked like it contained some flower calyxes.
The calyx is a tube-shaped structure formed from the sepals around the bottom of the flower. Curious, I tore open some of the brown ones (I assumed those were more mature) and sure enough there were seeds inside.
The seeds were in a cluster. As you can see from this painting by Jacob Sturm from 1796, the seeds are known to have two white marks.
(Image was downloaded from Wikipedia)
Catnip plants belong to the mint family, and thus have the characteristic square-shaped stem. They are originally from Europe, but were carried to North America by colonists (probably with their cats 🙂 ). Now they readily grow wild from seed and can be considered to be a weed.
The plants get their name from the fact that many cats find the plants attractive, like this one that rolled in the dried catnip I had set out to photograph. Scientists have discovered a chemical in the plant, nepetalactone, is what attracts the cats. The same chemical is a proven insect repellent. Guess that cat won’t have fleas or mosquitoes now.
The next step is to find out whether the dried seeds are still viable.
Have you ever grown catnip? Does your cat like catnip?
As some of you may have already noticed, I added a fantastic new blog to the blogroll called Archimedes Notebook. If you haven’t gone to visit, you should. Recent posts include such fun projects as “How much does a snowflake weigh?” and “Freeze a bubble.” You almost might enjoy the list of things to do in winter.
The greatest treasure is, however, the fabulous list of links to places where you can do real science. There are many more places to do citizen science than I realized. So many opportunities, so little time.
Just a reminder:Â one opportunity that is coming up fast is the Great Backyard Bird Count. Go check out the website now, get the instructions and then the counts are to be made February 18 -21, 2011. We participated last year and had a wonderful experience. This year my son has been trying out various “blinds” so as to get closer and not disturb the birds (and to keep the cats from “helping.”) We’d love to hear from you if you decide to give it a try.
No blind needed to get a close-up of this coot (Photo by ds.)
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.
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