Transcript Plant Champions Information for teachers This Power Point can be adapted for classroom use.

Plant Champions
Information for teachers
This Power Point can be adapted for classroom use
World Champion Facts
World’s Tallest Tree
The tallest recorded tree in the world is a coast
redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) known as
Hyperion. It is 115.56 metres tall and can be found
in the Redwood National Park in California (USA).
How tall is that?
Imagine a stack of
26 double decker
buses
Kew Champion Facts
Kew’s Tallest Tree
The Chestnut leaved oak (Quercus
castaneifolia) planted in 1846 is 31
metres tall (approximately 7 stacked
double decker buses).
It is also the fastest growing tree in
our gardens.
What was the tallest tree you found
on your thinking walk?
Kew champion facts
Kew at Wakehurst’s
Tallest Tree
The Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga
menziesii) is 46 metres tall
(approximately 10 stacked
double decker buses).
The tree grows at the bottom
of a valley and a lot of the
trunk is hidden in this picture.
There are around 27 metres of
trunk before the first branches
appear.
World Champion facts
World’s Stoutest Tree
The stoutest (widest) tree recorded is a Mexican
tree known as the Montezuma Cypress
(Taxodium mucronatum ).
It has a circumference of 54 metres.
It is 11.62 m wide.
World Champion Facts
World’s Oldest Tree
The oldest recorded tree is the “Great
Basin Bristlecone Pine” also known as
Methuselah which is thought to be over
4,500 years old – a similar age to the
Egyptian pyramids.
It is very difficult to measure accurately the age
of a tree. Each year new growth is added to
the trunk of a tree and this creates growth
rings which are easy to see when a tree is cut
down. Scientists use special equipment which
bores into the trunk and can count the growth
rings without having to cut down the tree.
Kew champion facts
Kew’s Oldest Tree
This is a sweet chestnut
(Castanea sativa). It has been
around since the early 1700s.
Whilst this tree has been
growing 9 monarchs have
reigned.
Another old sweet chestnut at
Kew was used to make a
mould for the Whomping
Willow in the Harry Potter
films!
Kew champion facts
Kew at Wakehurst’s Oldest Tree
The yew on the left
of this photograph
started its life
around 1391. It is
even older than
the Mansion at
Wakehurst Place
which was built in
the mid 1500s.
The age of the tree
was discovered by
taking a core
sample of the trunk
and counting the
number of annual
rings produced by
the tree.
Kew Champion Facts
This Corsican pine
(Pinus nigra )was
planted in1814. Over
the years this tall tree
has been struck by
lightning twice and a
small plane flew into the
top of the tree in the
early 1900s.
Kew’s Unluckiest Tree
World Champion Facts
World’s Longest Type of Leaf
The feather-shaped leaf
of the Raphia palm
(Raphia regalis) from
West Africa holds the
prize for the longest leaf
of any flowering plant.
The record-breaking
measurement of 25.11m
made in 1969 remains
unbeaten.
World Champion Facts
World’s Largest Type of Floating Leaf
Giant water lily
(Victoria
amazonica)
leaves can grow
up to 2 metres
across in
summer. The leaf
can take the
weight of a baby!
The leaves float
because they
trap pockets of
air between the
ribs underneath.
World Champion Facts
World’s Fastest Growing Plant
Giant bamboos are the world’s
fastest growing plants. They
can grow up to 1 metre per day
and can reach 25 metres high
which is as tall as a stack of
about 5 double decker buses.
World Champion Facts
World’s Largest Flowers
World’s Smelliest Flower?
The bloom of the titan arum
(Amorphophallus titanum) grows taller
than a person – up to 2.5 metres. The
bloom is not a single flower but is made
up of many of flowers and it smells foul.
It is found in the rainforests of Indonesia.
The flower grows taller than a person.
World Champion Facts
World’s Largest Flower
World’s Smelliest Flower?
The corpse flower (Rafflesia arnoldii) is the biggest individual flower in the world
and also smells horrible.
It has no leaves or roots and most of the plant lives inside another plant. The only
visible part of the plant is the flower which can grow up to 1 metre wide. It is found
in the rainforests of South East Asia. The rotten smell released from the plant
attracts flies which then carry pollen away to another plant.
World Champion Facts
World’s Largest Seed
The largest type of seeds in the world are the seeds of
the coco de mer (Lodoicea maldivica).
Coco de mer seed
Coco de mer seed
growing into a tree
Coco de mer fruit containing seed
World Champion Facts
World’s Smallest Seed
Image by Wolfgang Stuppy
The smallest type of seed is the seed of Lady’s
slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus) – each
seed is the size of a speck of dust. The tiny
bottle contains thousands of seeds.
Choose A Champion
Which would be your
champion catcher?
Sundews have droplets of
glue to trap the insects - just
like flypaper.
Pitcher plants lure insects inside with large helpings of nectar. The wall
is slippery and the insect slips down into the liquid at the bottom where
it drowns and is digested.
Venus flytraps trap insects which visit to collect
nectar and when they brush against trigger hairs
several times the leaf snaps shut. The teeth lock
stopping the insect escaping from the leaves and
the insect starts to be digested whilst still alive.
Choose A Champion
Which is your champion flower and why did you choose it?
Champion facts
Which is your champion leaf and why did you choose it?
Choose A Champion
Which is your champion seed and why did you choose it?
Notes for teachers
To find out more about champion plants, here are some useful websites.
unique records of Notable and Ancient Trees in Britain and Ireland
www.treeregister.org/
www.guinnessworldrecords.com
Notes for teachers
Measuring tree heights
How tall is the tree?
Before you begin the measuring exercise,
discuss with the children ways they could
measure the height of a tree. Suggestions
might include climbing to the top and dropping
a weighted string down to the ground and
measuring the length of the string, or chopping
the tree down and measuring it on the ground.
Discuss why these methods could be difficult or
harmful to you or the environment.
Explain that mathematics can help you to
measure the height of a tree easily, using the
rule that an isosceles right angle triangle (a
triangle with one right angle and two corner
angles of 45 degrees) has a base that
measures the same as the height.
Notes for teachers
Measuring tree heights
The pencil method:
• Hold a pencil vertically by the base
at arm’s length.
• Sight along it and walk to where the
top of the pencil looks to be in line
with the top of the tree.
• The distance you are standing from
the tree, plus one metre, is
approximately the same as the height
of the tree.
Notes for teachers
Measuring tree heights
The slightly silly but great fun method:
• Walk away from the tree.
• Turn your back to the tree, stand with your feet apart,
bend over and look at the tree through your legs.
• You should just be able to see the top of the tree
where your legs meet. If you can’t see the top of the
tree, walk nearer or further away and try again.
• When you have reached the right spot, stop and ask
your partner to measure the distance along the ground
from your head to the base of tree. This measurement
will be roughly equal to the height of the tree.
NB: The accuracy of this exercise depends on creating
a 45° viewing angle through the legs. The exact angle
will depend on the flexibility of the child! If lots of
children measure the same tree and come up with
different figures, this could be a point for discussion.