Hope Vela - Blog Post #8

The four types of plants in the garden are cabbage, kale, cauliflower, and our broccoli. These plants shared some similarities since they are from the same common ancestor, but in my opinion, the part of the plant with the most variation is the shape of the leaves. Each type of plant had a different shape of leaf. The broccoli had dark, cool-green, boat-shaped leaves. The cauliflower had leaves with ruffle-like edges but was flatter than the broccoli and cabbage leaves. Those variations had leaves that caved towards the center vein. The kale leaves were even more abnormal looking and ruffed like the cauliflower but the sides were not straight. The edge of the leave curved in and out like a rounded spike. The cabbage leaves were the most simple but also probably the most different from the rest of the leaves. The cabbage leaves were sturdier and just round. The edges didn't really have any ruffles or purposeful indentation. The part of the plant that had the greatest range of variation was also the leaf shape because it went from an oval-shaped cabbage leaf that caved at the middle to a flat kale leaf with parabolic spikes on the edges.

Above are the measurements and averages of all the plant leaves and flowers as well as the length and width of one of the broccoli leaves. The average length is 17.67cm and the average width is 8cm.

Above are the length and width of one of the kale leaves that I measured. The average length is 13.67cm and the average width is 10.33cm.

Above are the width and length of one of the cauliflower leaves. The average length of the cauliflower leaves was 19.67cm and the average width was 15cm.

To the right are the cabbage leaf measurements. The average length of the measured cabbage leaves was 12.33cm and the average width was 9.67cm.

Over time most species are forced to adapt to the environment. Sometimes these adaptations don't affect all of the population, however, and this creates natural variation within a species. Natural variation is when one species has multiple types of traits within it. Humans, for example, can have different color eyes but are all the same species. Sometimes these traits result in selective breeding where one variation only breeds with individuals of the same variation. If the variation affects the genes, then decent with modifications can occur. This basically just means that the traits will be passed on to future generations. Sometimes, however, a mutation will change the variation in the offspring even though it had been passed down through descent with modification. With all of these combined things, there are tons of ways that a species can develop variation.

I think the part of the plant that was the least varying was the flowers on each plant. I didn't see any flowers on the kale plant but I saw places, where it looked like flowers, had fallen off or maybe budding so I do not want to say that the kale has no flowers because I could be wrong. The cabbage did not have any flowers but the flowers that were there were almost identical no matter what plant variation they were on. Both the cauliflower and broccoli had yellow flowers. Each plant's flowers were roughly the same size and each flower had four petals. The petals on both variations seemed to grow with one pair of petals growing one way together and the other pair growing the opposite way. They looked similar to X's both types of flowers grew in bunches on the end of a stem. Until I realized that the broccoli had darker leaves than the cauliflower, it was hard to determine which plant was which, partially credited to the similarity of the flowers.

Above are measurements of the flowers and an image that shows how the flowers grew in bunches.

If a plant breeder wanted to change the flower of their broccoli or cauliflower they would have to change the genetic makeup of the plant. They could also try breeding it with a plant of the same species that has a mutation in the gene that impacts what the flower looks like. A longer-term method of changing the phenotype of the flower is putting it in conditions that force it to either adapt or be artificially selected and then the flower would continue to reproduce as you want it to.