Plants—Sample Online Research Project
Did you ever think about how plants are used around the world? What plants are used for food, building materials, textiles, medicines, aesthetic reasons and industrial purposes in countries outside the United States?
Fewer than 10 percent of known plant species are native to the United States. It’s time to find out more about plants that are native to, and important in, other countries.
Here’s your assignment: Choose a country other than our own to investigate. Identify five plants native to that country that appear to be important in terms of food, construction, clothing, medicinal reasons or decorative purposes. Or, as an option, identify five plants that are not native to the United States but that look as if they’re important to another country. Research how the plants are grown and used.
When you’ve completed your research, prepare a short report on the plants you studied. Along with pictures of each plant, include as much of the following information as you can: the major uses of the plant, its common and scientific names, the major characteristics of the plant, where it primarily is found and whether it is cultivated.
Here are some key words and links to help you with your research. Be sure to put phrases in quotes.
Key words
Country name, e.g. search Cuba
Food names, e.g. search rice, maize, sugarcane, plantain, kava, copra
Building materials, e.g. search lumber, teak, mahogany, eucalyptus, palm, lenga, yunnan
Textiles, e.g. search cotton, palm, flax,
Medicines
Decorations, e.g. search “ornamental trees,” “flowering plants,” grasses
Industrial products, e.g. search rubber, cork
Links
Country Information
http://www.link2exports.co.uk/countryprofiles/search.asp
http://www.bartleby.com/151/fields/89.html
http://countrystudies.us/
Food and Textiles
http://www.mnh.si.edu/garden/history/
http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/AGP/AGPC/doc/crops/4a-1.html
http://www.uga.edu/fruit/
http://www.worldforestry.org/wfi/world-forests.htm
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/traug99c.htm
Australia
http://www.anbg.gov.au/anbg/aboriginal-trail.html
Rice
http://www.thailand.com/exports/html/industry_riceproduction.htm
Soybeans
http://www.fb.com/issues/analysis/World_Production_Soybeans.html
Maize
http://www.cimmyt.org/Research/Economics/map/facts_trends/maizeft9900/pdfs/maizeft9900_Part3.pdf
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