Acer Rubrum Franksred - Term Paper Example

Acer rubrum ‘Franksred’, Oregon red maple Anatomical wood (phloem and xylem characteristic root structure). The anatomy of Acer rubrum roots is characteristic of horizontal woody roots that can grow up to 25 meters long. Following germination, the taproot grows up to about 5cm then begins to grow horizontally. A study of their external morphology and their growth rings revealed that they have rope-like roots whose cross section is eccentric. This is caused by a distribution of cambial activity around and along the woody root which occurs in the tree’s first 2 to 10 years. The cambium is started between the primary phloem and primary xylem until the xylem achieves a round core as shown in the figure below(Wilson, 3). Fig 1.A transverse section from side to side of the tip of a woody Acer rubrum root 20 cm after the apical initials following the completion of the cambium around the protoxylem poles. The vascular cambium is an embryonic tissue found between the phloem and the xylem at the edge of roots, branches and trunk. This generates new xylem on the root’s inside and new phloem together with bark on the outside. It also enables the phloem to effectively carry out its role of bringing synthesized organic nutrients from the tree’s leaves as the xylem takes mineral nutrients and water from the roots to other parts of the tree. Minimal cambial activity areas are found on the opposite side of the diarch protoxylem poles. This enables the non-woody horizontal roots to develop from grooves or the dense sides of the root.After aging the xylem dies and forms a dead tissue known as the heartwood. This is a central part of the roots and trunk (Wilson, 6). 2. Floral morphology and reproduction form. Red maple flowers during the spring, usually a few weeks before they experience a vegetative budding break. The species of the flowers is polygamo-dioecious. Its flowers are small and have thin stalks. They are also red or in some rare cases yellowish with beautiful petals. The tree can flower and produce seed at a very early age; trees of only four years have produced seed. The flowing process takes place on all branches of the tree, usually in the crown’s well-lit upper section. Typically, the branches that do not flower grow slowly and lack vigor.There are some trees that are entirely female while there are some that are entirely male and do not produce seeds. Still, some are mono-ecious and bear male as well as female flowers. In the case of the mono-ecious trees, the functioning female and male flowers are usually separated on different branches of the tree. Experts reveal that the flower’s sex is not a function of tree vigor and that the species demonstrates tendency toward the characteristic of dioeciousness and not toward dichogamy properties (Wilson, 18). 3. Pollen type and structure Under a pollen light micrograph, the pollen type of the Acer rubrum is prolate, tricolpate and a striate-rugulate with a size of 25-35 um. The pollen grains therefore vary in shape as some are rounded with others triangular having convex sides. Their colpi also have long and tapering ends with sometimes rounded or blunt ends. Their sizes can vary depending on the species, for example from 30 to 50 micrometersor 20-36 micrometers, or even 22-26 x 20-36 micrometers in thicknessThe pollen is easily recognizable for its distinct and simple furrows. The pollen SEM (scanning electron micrograph) reveals striae that are clearly visible, distributed in moderation. Pollen grains are released and spread by either wind or insects(www.pollenlibrary.com). 4. Fruit morphology Acer Rubrum is a very fruitful species. The fruit is a double samara and ripens before the completion of leaf development. Once it is ripe, its seedlings disperse for a period of between one to two weeks. Red maple trees of between 2 to 8 inches in d.b.h. can yield fruits of up to 91,000 seeds. Compared to other species of the Maple, the fruits are the lightest, averaging approximately 51,000 seeds per kg. In northern latitudes fruits are usually heavier. Fruit from Canada as well as Michigan and Wisconsin average 23 gr per 100 fruits, because in these regions the normal growing season is between 80 and 150 days. However, in regions such as South Carolina, Kentucky and Rhode Island the weight is lower at 17 gr per 100 fruits because of their frost-free period of between 180 to 240 days. The light fruits and their wings make them disperse quickly and effectively in the wind. The fruits also exhibit geographical variation, with the northern sources producing samaras that are heavier and shorter compared to southern sources, where there are longer periods of frost (Wilson 13). 5. Evolutionary position Acer rubrum is considered a primitive species that retreated together with other hardwood species during the last Ice Age, moving north as the ice continued to melt following the pioneering conifers. The taxonomy of the species is as follows. From the Kingdom Plantae, it belongs to the Division Magnoliophyta, the flowering plants known as Angiosperms. Further down the evolutionary tree, it belongs to Class Magnoliopsida, commonly reffered to as the Dicotyledons. Under the Subclass Rosidae, the Roses, it belongs to Order Sapindales, Family Aceraceae, the Maples and Genus Acer, the Maples. Since it originated in the Cretaceous, studies of the evolution of Acer rubrum, founded on a fossil calibrated phylogency, have established that the species came from an ancestor in the Pliocene (Saeki, Dick and Barnes, 998). 6. Economic importance The lumber industry refers to the red maple as soft maple for its close grains and semblance to the sugar maple. However, it has a softer texture and because of its poor machining qualities it is refined to a better grade to use in furniture as a substitute for the hard maple. Another economic use of the red maple is for landscape purposes. Its beautiful fall coloring is an outstanding feature that gives it distinctive red foliage especially in the northern forest. This is a striking contrast to the dark green conifers as well as the yellow foliage and white bark of the paper birches, making it a landscape favorite. Syrup production is another industrial use. However, the commonly used maples are sugar and black maple. A research study compared the syrup and sap from red maple, sugar maple and silver maple and established that they are all similar in flavor, quality and sweetness. The buds of the maple break their dormancy at an earlier time compared to the sugar maple, changing the chemical content of the sap and consequently bringing an unwelcome flavor to the syrup. Red maple is also used in wildlife as a favorite browse food for the white-tailed deer, moose and elk. Other wildlife that uses the tree includebirds, which eat its seeds and wood ducks which use it to build their cavity nests. The pileated woodpecker, screech owl and the flicker also use the tree. It is an important source of food especially during the winter, when timber harvesters slash it to give the animals an essential source of browse. When cut any time before leaf fall it provides a nutritious browse which is also more acceptable than those cut after leaf fall(Wetzel et al, 118).. The neutraceutical industry uses the Acer rubrum for a wide ranging medicinal uses. The plant has contributed to a growth in the neutraceutical market in not just Canada but also globally. Another use for the species is as a dietary supplement to improve health and prevent various illnesses Agriculture uses are another commercial use for the Acer rubrum among many communities in Canada and outside of the country. These communities associate with the tree for its use as a successor for deciduous forests. Many communities use the tree in managed regions for its wood and its leaves as feeds to livestock (Momsen, 100). 7. Cultural and historical relevance The anatomy, morphology or distribution of the Acer rubrum can be further understood through exploring historical publications that have been made of the tree species.Historically, the Acer rubrum has a big significance among settlers especially the Anglo-American settlers who used the tree for making inks and dyes. The most significant cultural relevance of the species, however, was in traditional medicinal use. The tree was found to have concentrated chemical compounds that traditional healers proved to be useful health products. They therefore used it to prevent and treat illnesses, or even just to optimize functions of the body. Examples of these chemicals were proteins, aromatics, alkaloids, sugars and terpenes. Native healers from Aboriginal peoples have carried out screens of these plants and used it for many centuries. The healers would strip the tree of its barks and boil these or wash them and use the water for treating eye illnesses (Rayburn, 288; Wetzel et al, 115). Acer rubrum also has a major historical relevance to the community of Cherokees (Garrett, 11). Together with the Acer saccharum, these sister species were widely used as decoctions to rub on sore eyes. In addition, country people considered a decoction of the Acer bark, mixed together with sugar, and used as a wash to cure ordinary aphthalmia. There is also recorded testimony that suggests the use of the Acer rubrumas a medicine to cure females; barks from the tree were used to cure “monthly female trouble”. The tonic properties of the tree’s barks associated with its mild harshness suggest that it is the reason it was used as a female medicine (Crellin and Bass, 420). Other than treatment for sore eyes, other uses for the species are associated with its acidity: to cure fever. The species was used as a type of tea made from ashes of the tree. This mixture was also used to cure diarrhea. Communities used the leaves of the maple as well as its inner bark for both the spleen as well as the liver. They were also used as a tonic for the entire body even as a sedative (Crellin and Bass, 421). Additional cultural uses include the tree’s use by the natives to make hives. The Iroquos, Ojibwe and the Potawatomi also drank its hot bark mixtures to cure measles. The Algonguins and the Abnaki used the sap as a sweetener while the Iroquos dried the bark and pounded it to flour with the objective of making bread in the dry seasons. In addition, the Iroquos and the Potawatomi boiled their traps into an infusion of the bark and water so as to deodorize the traps. It was also used by the Koasati as a treatment for gunshot wounds. Beautification is another rare use, whereby tribes such as the Ojibwe used the red maple leaf to beautify their beadwork designs. The figure below shows a scan of a leaf of the Acer rubrum (Kloss, 171). Fig: A scan of the Acer rubrum leaf. (Source: Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility) Works Cited Crellin, J. K. and A. L. Tommie Bass. A Reference Guide to Medicinal Plants. New York: Duke University Press, 1990. Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility. Acer rubrum. 2014. 24 Nov 2014 . Garrett, J T. The Cherokee Herbal: Native Plant Medicine from the Four Directions. , 2003. Internet resource. Kloss, Jethro. Back to Eden: A Human Interest Story of Health and Restoration to Be Found in Herb, Root, and Bark. Twin Lakes, WI: Lotus Press, 2002. Print. Momsen, Jennifer L. A Multi-scale Approach to Reconstructing Landscape History in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Ontario: ProQuest, 2007. Rayburn, Debra J. Lets Get Natural with Herbs. Huntsville, AR: Ozark Mountain Pub, 2007. Print. Saeki, Ikuyo, et al. "Comparative phylogeography of red maple (Acer rubrum) and silver maple (Acer saccharinum): Impacts of habitat specialization, bybridization and glacial history." Journal of Biogeography (2011): 992-1005. Wilson, Brayton F. "Structure and growth of woody roots of Acer Rubrum L." Harvard Forest,http://hfr.lternet.edu/sites/harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/files/publications/pdfs/HFpubs/paper11.pdf (1964): 1-16. Wilson, Brayton. "Development of the shoot system of Acer rubrum L." Harvard Forest Paper 14. Harvard University, Petersham, MA. 1966: http://hfr.lternet.edu/sites/harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/files/publications/pdfs/HFpubs/paper14.pdf. www.pollenlibrary.com. "Maple, Acer Rubrum details." (2014): http://www.pollenlibrary.com/Genus/Acer/. Read More