The Largest Plant-Eating Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs are descendanst of the most recent ancestor of modern birds and the Triceratops. In fact, you can trace their behavior with that of the birds, especially when they sleep. "Dinosauria" came from the descendants of the recent ancestors of the Iguanodon and Megalosaurus. This also includes the Sauropodomorphs (huge herbivorous quadrupeds), Theropods (bipedal carnivores), Ankylosaurians (armored types of herbivorous quadrupeds), Stegosaurians (plated types of herbivorous quadrupeds), Ceratopsians horned and frilled herbivorous quadrupeds) and the Ornithopods (quadrupedal or bipedal herbivores).

Here are some of the largest plant-eating dinosaurs that existed.

Plant

Ankylosaurus
This is the last and biggest "armored" dinosaurs that evolved. This plant-eating dinosaur lived through the latter part of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 70 to 65 million years back.

The Largest Plant-Eating Dinosaurs

It eats loads of low-lying plant materials to sustain itself. It has a large gut, and produces phenomenal amounts of gas.

It is a huge armored reptile that measures approximately 25 to 35 feet long, 4 feet tall and 6 feet wide. It weighs about 4.4 tons. Its oval and thick plates embedded on its upper leathery skin, the spikes and tails all protect it from predators or carnivores. The only un-plated part is its underbelly, which means, you can only wound it if you flip it over.

This dinosaur got its name in the year 1908 from Barnum Brown. Its fossils were found along Alberta, Canada and Montana, US. 3 partial skeletons (armor and tail) and 2 skulls were uncovered. Trackways were even found in South America (Sucre, Bolivia).

Alamosaurus
This plant-eating quadrupedal dinosaur lived through the latter part of the Cretaceous Period. This period was approximately 73 up to 65 million years back. It is both a Titanosaurid and Sauropod which means it has some body armor.

Being a whip-tailed and long-necked dinosaur, it grows to 69 feet long and weighs 33 tons. Fossils such as fragmentary skeletons (no skulls) of the Alamosaurus were discovered in Utah, New Mexico and Texas. Its name means "Ojo Alamo Lizard."

Apatosaurus
The Apatosaurus was formerly known as the Brontosaurus. It is among the largest animals that existed on land. It lived through the latter part of the Jurassic Period, approximately 157 up to 146 millions of years back.

It is a whip-tailed, long-necked dinosaur, measuring roughly 70 up to 90 ft. long and 15 feet tall around the hips. Its head is not more than 2 ft. long with a very small brain and long skull. The long neck consists of 15 vertebrae and hollow backbones. Its long "whip-like" tail is approximately 50 feet long. It also has "peg-like" teeth in the frontal part of its jaws. It has 4 "column-like" massive legs, with the hind legs being larger than the ones in front. The nostrils are on the upper part of its head.

Fossils of the Apatosaurus were discovered in Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. It was Othniel C. Marsh, an American paleontologist, who named and described the Apatosaurus in 1877. In 1879, he named and described another fossil, the Brontosaurus. Further studies have proven that both the Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus came are from a similar genus. It was the former name, Apatosaurus that was adopted.

The Largest Plant-Eating Dinosaurs

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How to Grow and Care For a Heather Plant

Heather plants are hardy, colorful, low-growing perennial shrubs native to the heaths, moors, and woodlands or Europe and Asia Minor. Well suited to marginal pastures, heathers are low-maintenance plants that can thrive in acidic soil with little fertilizer in and near-drought conditions.

The evergreen plants provide year-round displays of color from flowers and leaves. Depending on the type of heather plant, the flowers bloom between July and November and come in pink, lavender, white, magenta, amethyst, purple and red. If a gardener plans it right, a field full of different types of heather will remain colorful for a longtime, with new plants blooming just when others begin to fade.

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Just as important as flower color is the foliage color, which can be found in pink, red, copper, bronze, gold, silvery gray, and every shade of green imaginable. They keep their color though the winter, breaking up the dreary tans and browns of winter landscapes.

How to Grow and Care For a Heather Plant

CLIMATE: The colder, damper climates of the New England and the Pacific Northwest are well suited to growing heather, however, and gardeners in the northern Midwest, Great Plains, and Rocky Mountain areas should have fair success.

SOIL: The heather plant will do just fine in rocky soil, making them good candidates for coastal hillsides where few plants grow. Slightly acidic soil with a pH of 4.5 - 5.5 will work well for this plant.

SUN: As a general guideline, heather plants should get four to six hours of sunlight daily. So it is best to plant it in a place with enough sunlight throughout the year. The more sunshine this plant receives, the brighter are its leaves and flowers. Not enough sun will cause the plant to look leggy and dull.

SPACING: When you are ready to start growing a heather plant, consider the space a mature plant needs to fully develop. On average, these plants grow up to twenty inches tall and three feet wide.

PLANTING: The best time to plant the heather is in the spring or beginning of fall. Seed, division and cuttings can start new heather plants. If starting by cuttings, the best time to take them is in summer when the wood is half-ripe.

WATERING: After getting the plants into the ground, water them until the ground is moist. Follow this watering ritual twice a week for a few months. As with most plants, do not over water them. If the soil remains too wet the plant will suffer and possibly die.

The heather plant is hardy and resistant to insects, common diseases, and small burrowing rodents.

How to Grow and Care For a Heather Plant

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Cumin Seed: Grow Your Own

Cumin seed will grow in the Northern Hemisphere clear into Norway. The plant will grow, but that does not mean you will have enough days of warmth to mature the fruit, or the cumin seed.

Where to Grow Cumin
Cumin is native the Mediterranean, supposedly originating from Egypt. So, if you are considering growing your own cumin, simply assess how closely your climate is to the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The southwestern area of the United States is a good candidate for growing cumin.

Seed

How to Grow Cumin
Choosing Seed: Cumin seed maintains its viability for a good two years. So technically, if you have cumin you have used in cooking and have been satisfied with the quality, plant that.

Cumin Seed: Grow Your Own

If you are just tinkering and want a few plants or even a whole row of cumin in your garden, purchase a pack of seed from your favorite seed vendor like Nichols Garden Nursery.

But, if you have decided to go into large-scale production, shop around to get the best prices and best guarantees of germination. If you are organic, you will probably want to start with organic seed.

Planting Seed: Cumin is related to parsley. Both germinate best in cool spring temperatures although the mature plants will withstand really hot days.

You can directly sow into the soil. However, these seeds are slow to germinate and may be wildly overtaken by weeds before they get their heads out of the ground.

The better option is to start cumin in a cold frame or greenhouse situation in a potting soil mix that is weed-free. Be patient. These plants will do best if held in these situations until they are two to three inches tall and that could take eight weeks or more.

Harvesting Seed: Depending on your locale, you could be looking at a full year before you have cumin to harvest. Only experience will guide you on this kind of planning. Talk to someone in your area who has already grown cumin seed for the local wisdom on this topic.

Seeds develop on the top of large, round, flat flower clusters. Allow these stalks to remain on the plant until the plant is close to spent. This assures that the cumin seeds mature and store their flavor-filled oil.

Allow further dying after the harvest of the stalks. This should be done indoors to protect the cumin seeds from dew and rain. Spread the stalks loosely on a flat surface and cover with a thin cloth like muslin to keep dust and bugs to a minimum.

Check the stalks from time to time. When the cumin seeds readily part from the dried flower form is the best time to do the next step. Wearing thin cotton gloves, separate the seeds from the flower stalks. The gloves save wear and tear on your skin and help to keep your skin oils off the seeds.

If you plan to grow acres of cumin seed, you will need another method of removing the seed. It was common in days of yore to gather bundles of dried cumin stalks and beat them with a stick. That can still work today.

Spread out your cumin seed on a flat surface and pick out the debris including sticks, dried leaves, flower parts. Allow the cumin to dry like this for another couple of weeks. Nothing is more discouraging than packaging seeds prematurely only to discover a few months later that they had molded. This is a consequence of inadequate drying.

Cumin Seed: Grow Your Own

If after reading all these instruction you feel tired out, perhaps just buy cumin seed in bulk from a reputable supplier. Shop for cumin seed [http://www.cuminseed.net/] whole or powdered. You can purchase it in nearly grocery store, but the best quality and price is often found from a reputable herb dealer online.

Seed Germination

What is seed germination?
Seed germination is one of the most important phases in the life of plants. The seed is the basic building block for plants. Although a seed appears as a tiny capsule, it contains a potential life or embryo within it. In fact, even that seemingly life-less seed has reserve supplies of food and water that keeps the embryo within it alive. Without favorable environmental conditions, the seed is inactive or said to be in a quiescent state. When external conditions become favorable the metabolism process is initiated and the seed will germinate. It is then ready to grow into a plant.

So simply put, germination is a process that includes various changes that occur from the instance the inactive seed is provided with externally favorable conditions to the time when it sprouts into young seedlings.

Seed

So, what happens during germination?
Various changes take place during germination. It is during the process of germination that the embryo of the seed starts to develop. The germination process can be divided into two steps:

Seed Germination

Imbibition: This is the first step in the seed germination process in which the seed absorbs water. When water has been provided to the seed, an externally favorable environmental condition is created and the seed becomes active because its constituents are hydrated. Subsequently the seed swells up. It swells up to a point which causes the coating of the seed to crack. And from this opening in the seed, life springs out in the form of a root.

Respiration: When externally favorable conditions are provided to the seed, the metabolic process is triggered, initially in the absence of oxygen. Over a period of time, metabolism processes take place in the presence of oxygen.

Thus in the process of germination, the seed sprouts into a seedling, with the roots forming first and then the leaves forming next. The germination process comes to an end when the seedling has used up all the stored reserves of food it had as a seed. The end of germination marks the beginning of establishment phase.

So, what are the requirements for seed germination?
The essential external factors for germination are:

• Water: Water is crucial for the germination of the seed. Water softens the coating. When this water is absorbed by the seed, it causes the seed to swell and then cracks open to start the process of germination
• Temperature: The soil or compost temperature required by various seeds to germinate is different. The temperature range is crucial since the seed will not germinate above or below that range. A temperature range of 60 degree F to 75 degree F is ideal for many varieties of seeds to germinate. However, there are seeds that will germinate in cooler soil temperatures
• Oxygen: It is crucial to the metabolism process and provides energy to the seedling. Burying the seed deep inside the soil or water logging the soil may prevent seed germination due to lack of oxygen
• Light or darkness: Some seeds require light whereas some seeds germinate regardless of exposure to light. The former type is called Photoblastic and the latter is called Non- Photoblastic

Thus, in order to increase the likelihood of seed germination or the germination rate, it is important to provide favorable environmental conditions to that particular group of seeds

Seed Germination

Eddie enjoys gardening and the challenges it provides. He is particularly interesting in growing vegetable garden seeds and often uses a seedling mat to help them along.

How to Plant Iris Bulbs

With nearly 300 species, the iris plant is an extremely popular perennial plant. They are easy to grow, and spread quickly. Irises come in all sorts of colors and several groups can be grown in the same garden. They come in bearded and non-bearded varieties. Dwarf versions grow up to about eight inches tall. Irises are an excellent choice for your garden. Here are some key points to remember when planting iris bulbs:

• Plant your iris bulbs in July, August or September. This will give your new plants the best chance of establishing themselves in your garden.
• Plant irises in full sunlight. They can also handle partial shade.
• Do not plant them in soggy areas of your garden. Irises need to be planted in a good draining area so they do not get root rot. You can raise the soil bed level if needed.
• Do not over fertilize your irises. They do not need the most fertile ground in your garden either. If you plant them in clayish soil, you can use sand and compost to prepare for the iris bulbs.
• Plant them in a spot where they will have room to grow and spread. They will need to be divided or thinned at regular intervals to prevent them from taking over your garden or adjacent plants.

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Irises are an easy flower to work with, and will give your garden a simple to care for splash of color. Iris bulbs are easy to plant, and they will return year after year to brighten your garden.

How to Plant Iris Bulbs

How to Plant Iris Bulbs

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Plant Growth Stages - How Plants Grow

Plant growth stages mirror other living things with a beginning, reproductive, and ending stage, except some plants have an additional dormant stage. The terms for these stages are: Vegetative, Reproductive, Senescence, and Dormancy.

Starting with the seed, a plant seed is similar to a fertilized egg. It contains a food store for the new plant life, and a protective outer shell. In the first stage of plant growth, the Vegetative stage, the seedling absorbs moisture and nutrients from the inner food store inside the seed. When the plant has absorbed the seed foods and starts growing the root stem, and shoot that becomes leaves, it penetrates the seed's protective wall and begins growth. The root grows down into the warm moist earth, while the shoot rises upwards towards the sunlight and warm air. Upon emergence, leaves unfold and the roots continue to grow and spread. This continues until the plant seedling is fully developed with extensive roots, root hairs and leaves. The roots and leaves absorb moisture and nutrients from soil, water, and air.

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The next of the plant growth stages would be a Reproductive stage. At this point, when the seedling has matured, it will produce a flower that has either male or female parts, or both. The flower contains pollen, which is then transferred to the egg part of the flower and a transformation into new seeds, or pods containing seeds, begins to grow to maturity. The pollination can occur with the help of wind, vibrations, insects like bees, and animals. Or, humans can artificially breed and cross breed plants through pollination efforts or splicing branches to other plants. The benefit to pollination of seeds is that gene diversity can occur, which may help survival.

Plant Growth Stages - How Plants Grow

A third growth stage occurs after new seeds or pods have been produced and spread to make new plant life. This would be Senescence, or old age in plants. This can be seen in the fall as the leaves on certain deciduous trees change color before dropping off. Plants show deterioration similar to other organisms in old age, such as damage from free radicals and telomere shortening.

Another growth stage that is different than Senescence is the Dormancy stage. In Dormancy, the plant goes into a state of hibernation, allowing it to survive intense winter weather and revive in the springtime with new growth, without going through a seed stage. This is easily seen in trees, that drop leaves in the fall, and the sap runs up, then the tree remains in a dormant stage until new buds come out in the warmer spring weather, to run the entire cycle year after year until the tree eventually dies. Dormancy can give plants an edge because they can build on prior year's growth instead of starting over from seed. This gives them a competitive edge in competition for sunlight and soil, as they are bigger.

Plant growth stages are similar to growth and deterioration of other organisms, all part of the chain of life.

Plant Growth Stages - How Plants Grow

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Gardening - Plumeria Plant Care

The plumeria is a beautiful plant whose flowers are put into the Hawaiian leis. It is also known as the Frangipani or the Lei flower. It doesn't only grow in Hawaii though; you can grow it at your own home!

The plumeria is native to tropical areas of the Caribbean, the Pacific Islands, South America and Mexico. When they are grown in these tropical regions, they can become thirty to forty feet tall and half as wide! If grown in other areas, however, they will usually only grow to be large shrubs or sometimes small trees. The branches of this plant are spaced quite widely and are round or pointed. The leaves grow in clusters by the branch's tips.

Plant

If you live in a colder climate, your plumeria should be grown in a container. They make great potted plants for your porch, patio, or greenhouse. If you live in a mild climate, they can be put into the ground where they will become beautiful small trees. However, if temperatures fall into the low 40s they need to be kept in their containers or uprooted from the ground and brought to a heated location. When you uproot this plant, try to get as much root as possible and put the plant into a heated garage or basement where the temperatures are above freezing. During the winter, this plant goes into a dormant stage and does not need light or water. Once all the leaves fall off, you can store it inside until spring comes again.

Gardening - Plumeria Plant Care

As soon as the temperature rises outside, you can bring the plant back outside or plant it again if you had it in the ground. It will start growing again as if nothing happened.

Starting in the early summer and ending in the early fall, this plant will make very beautiful, fragrant flowers. The fragrance of these flowers is amazing; it is very pleasant and sweet. The flowers also come in many colors, such as whites, reds, yellow and many pastels. The plant can flower for three months at a time and will produce new flowers every day. When you pick these flowers, they will last for several days if you keep them in water.

If you plant the plumeria in a container, use a well draining potting soil. Cactus mix or a mix with sand and perlite works great. Put the cut end into the soil about two inches deep and firm the soil. Plumerias have low water requirements. Only water them when the soil is dry. Stop watering them in the winter when the leaves fall off and resume in the spring.

Plumerias do need fertilizer that is high in nitrogen. Start giving the fertilizer in the spring when the new growth comes. If you want to encourage the plant to make lots of flowers, switch your fertilizer to one high in phosphorous in early May. Use the high phosphorous fertilizer every two to three weeks until the end of August.

The Plumeria is a beautiful, hardy plant that many people enjoy. If you care for this plant properly, you will be well rewarded with stunning, fragrant flowers. Most importantly, just make sure you protect this plant from the cold.

Gardening - Plumeria Plant Care

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Gardening [http://gardening.tips-and-gear.com/]

Flax Seed - Good News For Diabetics

Diabetics on the lookout for a dietary supplement to ease the symptoms of the metabolic disorder can find a healthy option in flax seed, whether in its whole, ground or oil form. Flax seed endeavors a holistic nourishment being enriched with omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, dietary fibers, vitamins and minerals.

Considering that diabetes mellitus affects the body's metabolic functions, particularly impairing the sensitivity of muscle cells to insulin, flax seed is also an excellent nutritional complement to the maintenance of insulin-sensitizer drugs.

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How can flax seed help in relieving diabetes symptoms?

Flax Seed - Good News For Diabetics

Flax seed contains a good proportion of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids deemed beneficial to circulatory health. Supplements formulated with these essential fatty acids have been affirmed to regulate elevated blood sugar levels in diabetic patients. Furthermore, the Omega 3 present in the grain conveys anti-inflammatory properties that reduce the risks of symptomatic hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, ketoacidosis and atherosclerosis.

Clinical studies reveal how the antioxidant properties of the grain, in line with its high lignan content, aids in the management of insulin-resistant diabetes. This benefit is attributive of the estrogenic activities of lignans which promotes pancreatic functioning of insulin and sustains hormonal balance in the body. Regarded as an adaptogen, flax lignans restores cellular processing of glucose to therefore prevent what triggers diabetes mellitus, reduce its risks to health and relieve related symptoms as well.

Thus by addressing nutritional deficiencies, diabetes mellitus can be properly managed. Given its high dietary fiber content, along with other essential nutrients such as potassium, zinc, magnesium, and lecithin; flax seed remarkably supports the daily nutritional requirements of diabetics. To this intent, flax seed can be utilized as an alternative ingredient to eggs, flour or wheat to support the need for increased Omega 3 fatty acid intake among diabetes sufferers.

Holistic Benefits of Flax Seed

We've seen how the medicinal benefits of its bioactive compounds makes flax seed a promising component of a diabetes diet. Though besides regulating blood glucose levels, supplementation with the grain can also help lower LDL cholesterol levels through Omega 3 support. A boost of lignan antioxidants meanwhile reduces the risk of certain cancers, so why not integrate flax seed sprinkles in your next meal?

Cravings for sugary treats and carbs while managing the spikes in blood sugar levels can be pacified through the consumption of flax seed meals. Skim the Internet and you're bound to find a handful of flax seed recipes published. From drinks to whole meals, you will discover that flax seed is not only a healthy supplement but a savory treat as well.

Flax Seed - Good News For Diabetics

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Flax Seed - The Natural Laxative

It is all right to take over-the-counter laxatives once in a while, especially if you have been badly constipated for a few days. Relying on laxatives alone to get the bowels moving is not beneficial to your body in the long run. Know that the prolonged conveyance of chemical substances to the gut could seriously disrupt the bacterial flora of the gastrointestinal tract and compromise the bodys immune defenses in the process. What the body needs is a natural laxative that will provide you about three bowel movements a day and of course get you dumping those feces regularly. And to get that done, you will have to feed the body frequently with plant sources rich in dietary fibers, like flax seed.

Flax seedis packed with remarkable health benefits inside and out, making it an ideal dietary supplement. The husk is enriched with insoluble fibers that readily combine with water to soften stool, induce bowel movement, and facilitate the excretion of feces from the colon to prevent constipation. Moreover, dietary fibers instantly provide a full feeling during meals, making flax seed an effective weight loss supplement as well. Grind the seed moderately and your body will surely benefit from a threshold of nutrients you will not find bundled in any other dietary supplement.

Seed

Trapped inside the husk isflax seed oil,which happens to be the richest plant resource for the renowned EFAs (essential fatty acids) known as Omega 3 and also the phytochemicals called lignans. Omega 3 EFAs are unsaturated types of fat that sweep the artery walls from an undue formation of HDL, or the bad cholesterol, thus preventing the onset of hypertension, heart disease, and strokes. What a good way to nurture your cardiovascular health! Omega 3 also helps regulate metabolic, digestive, mental, and adrenal functions.

Flax Seed - The Natural Laxative

Lignans are naturally occurring chemicals that play a vital role in the prevention of type 2 diabetes, tumor, and cancer cell formation by cushioning the impact of free radicals on bodily cells. Flax seed was not hailed as the health wonder of the 90s for nothing. Completing its nutritional portfolio is an array of vitamins and minerals bound to keep the body agile, fit, and healthy all day long.

Say goodbye to pharmaceutical laxatives for good. Taking milled flax seed regularly beats constipation in no time while nourishing the body with the health benefits of dietary fibers, Omega 3, lignans, and multivitamins. That is nutrition and wellness available in a few servings of flax.

Flax Seed - The Natural Laxative

Bruce Maul is a partner in Goldf Flax Seed, Inc. which provides only top quality Flax Seed and Health related products. Learn more about Flax Seed by visiting http://www.goldflaxseed.com