 |
 John Torrey
was considered the leader of botanists in America
during his lifetime. He published three
comprehensive catalogs of North American flora,
and was one of the first American botanists to
arrange plants by families. |
 David
Douglas spent three years gathering
botanical and zoological specimens from
throughout the Pacific Northwest. The number of
species he took back to England far surpassed
that returned by any other previous expedition. |
 The
Saguaro
(Carnegiea gigantea) is the largest cactus of the United
States, standing up to 50 feet tall and weighing
as much as 10 short tons. It is also one of the
longest-living plants in the world, with
200-year-old specimens not being uncommon. |
 Leaves
are the main food-making
parts of almost all plants. They capture energy
from sunlight and use it to make food out of
water from the soil and carbon dioxide. This food
provides plants with energy to grow, to produce
flowers and seeds, and to carry on all their
other activities. |
