It’s hot outside! Summer is in full swing and the last thing someone feels is to go outside.
However, in the evening after the sun goes down, it is acceptable, although dark, but this is the perfect time for a plant exploration.
You may think, “But it’s dark. What should we see in the dark?”
I would like to share a very special idea that was shared with me by one of my students, Carrie Ann. She wrote to me to share that she and her husband had taken a walk outside with their UV light and discovered a whole new world.
Land Ivy
She stated: “We were like children who saw the world with a new view.”
She asked me to pass this information to my community and so I went outside excitedly at night with my own blacklight to see this world.
That first experience was neat, but my light was not the right type of blacklight. So I wrote back to Carrie Ann and asked her specifically what light she used. She answered and I immediately ordered it.*
It appears that there are different types of UV lights and the cheap are a different type of UV light and that is why I did not see what she saw in the first instance. It is best to one UV light on long distance that broadcasts 365 Nm.* By having a long distance, you can go back and the light on the plant shine and it will not interfere if you want to take a picture of the results. It is also great to shine up in the trees that are outside your immediate reach.
Last night my son and I went dark with the light and our phones and saw an enchanted world! My neighbors probably think we lost our mind when we ran around the light on plants, trees, lichens and fungi, then oohed and aahed in the results.
A variety of grasses and horse tweeds (red in the middle).
This must be what it is like to be a butterfly or by flying around in the world! It is really their world and we just live in it.
Garden Sage
This is a great way to explore the plants at night and can stimulate all kinds of questions: which ensure that some plants turn red, while others turn blue or stay green? Why do some plants stay on top of green, but red underneath, such as ragweed? Why do iris leaves turn orange and become ground ivy red? Why is grass blue? Why are some lichens yellow, while others are orange and others green/blue?
Iris magazines, grass seed heads and wild lettuce leaves
Lichens on a tree with soil Ivy grow below
Curly willow tree
During the day is a good time to make guesses – which colors do you think the plants will run under the UV light at night? Then go out at night and take photos of your discoveries. The next day you can compare your results of what you thought would happen versus what really happened.
The short answer is chlorophyll and other chemicals cause the reaction. Plants that glow bright red have produced too much and try to release it. When my son and I came across the rose, he was shocked when he saw the aura of the plant while the red of the plant beamed.
Gifsumak
Mulberry
Violets and ground ivy in the grass
Young leaves will often glow brighter than older leaves and we saw that some glow on both the top and bottom, while other leaves only glowed red at the bottom and green at the top.
Rag
Horsel
Rose – Hard to catch with the camera
Fungi often throw colors of intense greens, yellow and blues. We found a stump that was full of Reishi Buds. Most had a light green glow, but one in particular was purple.
Reishi Buds
Reishi Bud
Reishi Buds
Reishi Bud
I found the same with a sweet gum ball – most glowed a light green, but this in particular (a smaller, younger ball) was a light purple color.
Sweet gum
Looking at a pine tree, we discovered that juice ran up and down over the length of the tree. It has been struggling for a while because my father planted it years ago and the moist midwest is not his native country at home (I believe it is a pine from the West but it has not handed it out). We cut a few dead branches this spring and some fresh juice/resin dripped from that location. While most of the juice glowed light yellow, the fresh juice was a clear violet purple.
Pine resin both old and fresh
During the hot summer days you can take the time to dive into the why of the fluorescent centers on the UV light waves of a plant to shed excess chlorophyll to the plant that draws attention to its potential pollinators.
It is also worth noting that the plants can and will change color throughout the season, so this can certainly be converted into a long -term project of science exploration. Every child could choose a plant to visit again all year round and start a diary of the changes. Observe the plant during the day and then do a night observation. What changes can take place that can be connected to the season, the health of the factory and the life cycle phase of the plant?
I am excited to dive in this and to think of more creative ideas about how to use it with plant study and exploration.
*Keep in mind that the Amazon -Link for the UV light is my affiliatielink. If you use that link, I will receive a small amount for the referral without extra costs for you.