The Botanists

1. The Botanists Fabi and Kiran

2. The Botanists As the Botanists, we were studying plants; in particular, the Nepenthes genus and the Adansonia genus (Also known as the Monkey Cup or Pitcher Plant and the Baobab).

3. Adansonia The Adansonia genus are very, very old, and very, very big. It is sometimes called the ‘Upside Down Tree’ or ‘Bottle Tree’ and is very nutritious, from its fruit to its roots. There are 8 species of Adansonia - one is native to sub-saharan Africa, one to north-western Australia, and six native to Madagascar. They can also be found on the Arabian Peninsula.

4. Nepenthes The Nepenthes genus is carnivorous, attracting their prey and then drowning it in their liquid-filled pitcher. It will eat a variety of insects, and might occasionally catch a bird, a rat or a lizard. They can be found in the Seychelles, the Malay Archipelago (Particularly in Borneo), Western Australia, New Caledonia, India, Sri Lanka and of course Madagascar. There are many species of Nepenthes. They are very interesting!

5. Question One: What is Succulent? We think that succulent means a plant with thick, fleshy leaves and/or stems that contain water, that has adapted to dry, rain-lacking areas. (Some people think that succulent includes geophytes – plants that survive really hot, cold or dry seasons by retreating into an underground organ – so their roots are succulent, but in our opinion that is not classified as succulent.)

6. Question 2: What important ingredient in baking comes from the baobab’s fruit? Cream of Tartar, which in baking is used when making frosting, candies or meringue.

7. Question 3: What pollinates the Adansonia and the Nepenthes? The Nepenthes genus is pollinated by insects, mainly being flies (mosquitoes, blowflies and midges included) butterflies, moths and wasps. The Adansonia tree pollinator is no other than the nocturnal mammals such as fork marked lemurs, bushbabies and bats.

8. Our Hypothesis on how these genus arrived to Madagascar We think that the baobabs must have originated on mainland Africa, on the part of what is now Madagascar. When Madagascar drifted away, the baobabs kept with it. We also think that the seed was blown in a storm or tornado or something to Australia. We think that the Nepenthes originated in the Malay Archipelago, especially in Borneo and Sumatra, because there is the most biodiversity there. Since the other places that Nepenthes is found are nearby, so we think that they were blown over by some kind of storm.

9. Thank you for listening Thanks

10. References · "Succulent Plant." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Succulent_plant>. · "Nepenthes." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Mar. 2013. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepenthes>. · "Baobab." PhytoTrade. Wild Mercury, 2012. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://phytotrade.com/products/baobab/>. · "Baobab Fruit Powder." Baobab Foods. Baobab Foods, 2013. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://www.baobabfoods.com/baobab-fruit-powder/>. · “Aduna." Aduna. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. · "Adansonia Grandidieri." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 May 2013. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. · "African Baobab (Adansonia Digitata) | Feedipedia - Animal Feed Resources Information System." African Baobab (Adansonia Digitata) | Feedipedia - Animal Feed Resources Information System. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.feedipedia.org/node/525>. · ""The Tree Is Possibly Older than the Giza Pyramids"" The Big Baobab at Modjadjiskloof, Limpopo Province, South Africa. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.bigbaobab.co.za/baobab.html>. ·