Floral morphology

The session today was slated to end at 16:40 to allow for course evaluations to be conducted. With rain bands rolling off the ridgeline in waves, this would normally cause the indoor video playlist option to be invoked. I really didn't want to preface the course evaluation with a video playlist, despite the weather issues.

A floral handout was cobbled together ahead of class and 25 copies were printed for the students, a rare instance of printing anything. 

At 3:30 a rain band hit campus. I opted to wait out the rain band in order to start at the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis across the road.

When the rain band had cleared out to the west sufficiently, the class crossed the road. Another rain band was rolling over the ridge as I wrapped up coverage of the four whorls and their constituent parts.

From there the class crossed back to view  Gardenia taitensis flowers. The class was strung out under the eaves of the building, most could not see the floral dissection. Ocimum tenuiflorum provided a raceme, but only a couple students next to me were able to see my description of the pedicels that made Ocimum tenuiflorum a raceme and not a spike.

After the Gardenia we moved on to Hymenocallis litoralis and its tepals. At the learning resource center we also viewed Turnera ulmnifolia and Ixora coccinea. 

Moving west the Eugenia uniflora had no flowers. I wanted Stachytarpheta jamaicensis to illustrate a spike inflorescence, but I could not locate any plants in the area where there were once found. Rain prevented going to another area where they might be found - and, in any case, the rain undoubtedly knocked the florets off.

A Morinda citrifolia flower was examined.

Sphagneticola trilobata and Plumeria rubra at the dining hall wrapped up the rainy day class. The assignment was then mentioned but not fully explained. The assignment is included further below.

This structure worked well enough given the conditions. Sunny weather would be preferable, and, being Pohnpei, the sun broke out as soon as class was over at 16:50. Still, this was a passable activity. The class often had to pause and wait for the rain band to pass, but this also helped keep the group together. 

Flower colors have meaning. Red means loving, Pink means compassionate, orange means energetic, yellow means friendly, green means childlike, blue means tranquil, purple means royal, and white means pure. Which color is your personality? Are you loving, compassionate, energetic, friendly, childlike, tranquil, royal, or pure? 

Decide which color you are and then go find a flower of the color that goes with your personality.

Take a photo of that flower with your cell phone and upload that photo to Moodle. 

After submitting add to the Submission comments whether the plant is a monocot or dicot, the number of sepals (if any), the number of petals, the number of anthers, the stigma, and the inflorescence type (capitulum, corymb, panicle, raceme, solitary, spike, spadix, or umbel).

• Loving: You see yourself as deeply emotionally committed to a partner in life, you are passionate, devoted, and romantic. On the up side you enjoy a strong bond with your partner. On the down side is that other people may see you as pulling away from friends, you are also at emotional risk if the one you love does not have the same level of devotion in return. Your color is red.
• Compassionate: You see yourself as being caring, kind, helping others especially those you do not know, putting yourself second. On the up side you are known for being giving. On the down side some people tend to take advantage of you. Your color is pink.
• Energetic: You see yourself as being active, you look forward to the next activity, you enjoy playing sports, you are naturally competitive. On the up side you enjoy good health and an optimistic outlook. On the down side is that you sometimes have difficulty relaxing and unwinding. Your color is orange.
• Friendly: You see yourself as being social, outgoing, you prefer to be with friends. On the up side you enjoy the comfort and companionship of always having friends around. On the down side is that you may not be all that comfortable being alone with yourself and your thoughts. Your color is yellow.
• Childlike: You see yourself as being playful, possessed of innocence, at times silly. On the up side you are excited about change and new challenges, you experience joy and happiness. On the down side is that others may see you as being naive, easily misled, and immature. Your color is green.
• Tranquil: You see yourself as being a calm, tranquil, serene, peaceful, quiet, and somewhat shy. On the up side you are not easily disturbed by events around you, you remain emotionally cool where others react. On the down side some people see you as not caring, and uninterested in getting involved. You may feel isolated and lonely at times. Your color is blue.
• Royal: You see yourself as being a natural born leader, decisive, commanding, and wise. On the up side you know how to get things done. On the down side some people might say you tend to be demanding. Your color is purple.
• Pure: You see yourself as being separate from others, often standing alone, you tend to do your own thing. On the up side the moods and opinions of others do not affect you. On the down side is that people see you as distant and remote. Your color is white.