Oh, no, not more tiny black seeds.
Like last week, these seeds were also not found in Arizona.
Do you recognize the pods I found them in?
Do you know what plant these came from? If you’d like to, please leave a comment with your idea.
Edit: the answer is now posted.
We had some great guesses last week for our mystery seeds, which were a type of dogwood. My guess is gray dogwood, Cornus racemosa based on the flower structures.
What do you think?
Whatever type of dogwood it is, the flowers have large open nectaries that attract a wide range of insects. What insects do you see in this photograph?
Dogwoods of this type would make great additions to butterfly gardens. Not only are they a wonderful nectar source for adult butterflies, they are also host to the larvae of some relatively rare butterflies. If you have a few minutes, you will definitely want to find out about ants tending azure butterfly caterpillars on swamp dogwoods at Nature Posts blog. Fascinating!
The berries that form in the late summer are food for many birds (list of birds that eat dogwood berries from Illinois) and some mammals, as well. Birds also use these shrubs for nesting and cover.
Gray dogwood grows naturally in the eastern half of North America (distribution map).
A better close-up of the seeds by Steve Hurst @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database. The gray dogwood can be grown from seeds.
Do you have a butterfly or wildlife garden? Would you consider adding the gray dogwood?
Seems like it has been too long since we’ve done any science activities, so let’s share a book for STEM Friday that is sure to get the scientific inquiries flowing. Explore Gravity!: With 25 Great Projects (Explore Your World series)
is a new children’s project book that helps budding physicists learn about why gravity is important and how it works. The best part is that it is filled with hands-on projects that can be done with easy-to-obtain objects, mostly from around the house.
What to like: The instructions are clear and easy to follow. New vocabulary words are highlighted with bold font, and then defined in sidebar glossaries. There is also a complete glossary in the back, as well as an index (great for finding projects fast). Plus the projects are fun and some, like the marshmallow trebuchet, are sure to “launch” new projects
Studying the effects of gravity and weightlessness can be a blast for adults, too. Check out scientists investigating fluid movement in weightless conditions in this video from Science Friday. Note: some mention of the adverse effects of nausea are discussed briefly.
For a more advanced discussion of how gravity works and what it is, check out this video at How Stuff Works.
You can also do this by stretching out a bed sheet.
Explore Gravity!: With 25 Great Projects is a perfect way to investigate how gravity works and to inspire budding scientists.
Related activities:
At the Nomad Press Explore Gravity page, select activities in the lower left sidebar (you will need to scroll down to see it) and a link will come up for you to download free instructions to make a balance sculpture (mobile).
Making parachutes is a good way to explore the forces of gravity.
Making siphons is another way to explore gravity (Growing With Science Water Cycle, second activity).
Age Range: 7 – 9 years
Series: Explore Your World series
Paperback: 96 pages
Publisher: Nomad Press (November 1, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1619302071
ISBN-13: 978-1619302075
Disclosures: The book was provided by the publisher for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate for Amazon, and if you click through the linked titles or ads and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Proceeds will be used to maintain this self-hosted blog.
Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.
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