Plants For Food and Fibre People and Plants

n How do humans use plants? Only to eat? ? ? n Plants provide fibre, which humans use for clothing, paper and building materials n Fibre is the tissues of plants from the stem, leaves, seeds or roots.

Plants in the Environment n What can plants do? n Produce oxygen and use up carbon dioxide n One hectare of trees can remove over 10 tonnes of CO 2 per year. n Plants are also the basis for most food chains n Plants provide shelter n Plants clean and filter water n Plant roots help keep soil in place

Plants for Food n. Nearly 75% of the world’s food supply is based on seven major crops:

1) Wheat

2) Rice

3) Maize (corn)

4) Potatoes

5) Barley

6) Cassava

7) Sorghum

Plants for Fibre n Much of today’s clothing comes from synthetic (manufactured) material such as polyester or nylon n However, plants still provide important fibre to make cloth n Cotton, hemp and flax are all natural fibres we use

Cotton n Grown for centuries n Different than synthetic fibres in that it can absorb moisture n The world’s most important non-edible plant n Fibres come from the cotton seed that uses the fibres to move

Hemp n Original material for blue jeans n Oldest cultivated fibre in the world n Benefits: produces 4 times more fibre than the same amount of trees n Ready to harvest in one year n Hemp paper lasts longer than wood fibre paper and can be recycled up to 7 times n Grow quickly, choke out weeds, not eaten by pests

n Food and fibre crop grown in northern climates n Fibres taken from the stem and are 2 -3 times stronger than cotton n Flax fibre is also used to make linen paper n Grown on the prairies for linseed oil which is used in paints and varnish and printing inks

Plants for Medicine n Many medicines contain ingredients made from plants n Over 7000 medicines are made from plants, including heart drugs, cancer medications, antibiotics and pain meds

n For centuries it was known that the bark of the white willow tree eased pain n Scientists isolated the exact ingredient and now produce pain medications n Aspirin is one example

n Opium poppies are the source of morphine, the most powerful pain medication n The morphine is found in the milky fluid of the poppy’s seed pod and also in the stems and leaves n Codeine is also found in the poppy

n Quinine comes from the cinchona tree that grows in the humid forests of the South American Andes n Quinine is used as a prevention for malaria, a deadly disease carried by certain tropical mosquitoes n Until quinine, malaria killed about 2 million people a year n In 1944 scientists developed a way to produce synthetic quinine, but the malarial parasite has since developed a resistance to this quinine – natural quinine is still good!

Plants for Transportation and Construction n Did you know that a plant got you to school today? n Rubber is one of the most important plant products that people use. n When people figured out how to turn liquid rubber (latex) into a hard, yet flexible material, our world changed dramatically. n Natural rubber comes the Brazilian rubber tree, which is the only source of natural rubber n Most vehicle tires today use synthetic rubber made from coal and oil by-products

n Plants have also influenced transportation on water. n Canoes made from tree – either a hollowed out red cedar or a birch bark canoe n Certain plants are also used to make lubricants for machinery parts on planes, trains and automobiles n Obviously plants are also used for construction all around the world

Plants for Fuel n If you use wood or coal to heat your home, you have plants to thank for it n Sugar in some plants can be turned into a type of liquid fuel called ethanol n Methanol is another type of fuel made from wood (also called wood alcohol)