School Botanical Investigation

Botanical Investigation        

                                                              Tokuzane Minami

As I have said previously, playing football is my favorite activity in my daily school life. A big perk of this is being surrounded by a diverse flora while playing. Since the school playground is surrounded by several of them, it is inevitable to get interested in the plants growing there. In this article, I would like to pick some plants from the playground and highlight their interesting features. I can not go into every detail of them as it would take millions of years.

For this article, I used several plant identification applications such as “Green Snap”, “PlantNet”, “PictureThis” and “Google Photos” to refine and confirm the accuracy.

(＊Since I am not an expert in plants, there may be errors in their names. I apologize for any of those cases.) 

As you open the door and enter the playground,                                                  You will probably have this kind of view↓

・This specific tree is commonly seen as a signal to the arrival of spring

・Most commonly used name is “magnolia”.

・Its buds tend to face in the north direction.

→To prevent damage or drying, it should not be excessively exposed to direct sunlight.

・Saucer-like shape of flowers.

・Blooming time: spring

・Hybrid saucer magnolia tree

・Lifespan: 30~50 years

②European beech

・Lifespan: 150-200 years

・The European beech is quite difficult to climb

・Some individual trees can grow for more than 300 years!

・The tree needs plenty of space to grow!

・Plant Height：25 m to 40 m

・Symbolism：Prosperity, feminine strength, knowledge, etc.

・The leaves make a distinctive sound when they sway in the wind.

・Highly valued wood.

→ Commonly used for furniture, musical instruments, for construction, etc.

③Photinia × fraseri 'Little Red Robin

・Its 1 cm tall fruit called “pome” comes after the flower 

→This is not edible at all!

→Therefore, there is no information about its taste.

・It has a bigger size named “Photinia × fraseri 'Red Robin'”.

・Lifespan: 10~20 years

・The name “photinia” comes from the Greece word “photeinos”, which means shiny

・Compact size, grows up to 1m.

④ Unknown plant

I need to apologize to the readers (if they exist) for this one.

I tried to identify this plant, but my searches always led to poisonous plants (Pacific yew, Japanese yew, Eastern hemlock…).

I know it is impossible to plant a poisonous plant in a school garden. There also seems to be a lack of growth of the infamous red poisonous berries, referred to as yew berries. This is, however, unknown to the school at the moment.

I apologize for my oversight.

Summary 

The most suitable tree for climbing would be the magnolia. Many students have attempted (and probably succeeded). 

Although it was not very interesting, I would like to end this article by thanking Mia, the editor.