Kaydence @ Christ the King School: February 2015

Thursday 26 February 2015

Manuka Tree Report

What do they look like?

Manuka grows in little trees or shrubs, that can grow to different sizes up to 8 metres. They have skinny sharp leaves that are pointy and prickly, but have a nice strong fragrance when they are crushed. They also have brown bark that hangs loosely on its trunk, and their branches grow in long strips.

Where do they grow?

Manuka is usually found throughout the South, the North and the Stewart Islands and in low land to low alpine regions up to about 1400 metres above the sea’s surface. They can be found in different habitats like: Wetlands, dry hillsides and river gravels.

How do they move?

It is regular for a plant to move closely or towards the sunlight to get energy, and to feed off it.

How long can a Manuka tree live?

They can live for a pretty long time, which is about 5-10 years for them to live!

What do people use Manuka or tea trees for?

Well, people use manuka to make honey and that honey isn’t just popular for it’s unique, special and strong taste, but it has also been revealed that it has exceptional antibacterial and antifungal properties. It is often used to heal boils, burns, cuts and even acne, and it can be used to heal and restore sore throats if you take it by a spoonful or with freshly prepared lemon, ginger and Manuka honey tea.

By: Kaydence

Pollination

Bees are important because they help us by pollinating our flowers, and if they didn’t pollinate them, then all our beautiful plants and flowers wouldn’t be growing. They are also important because they make our honey and you can use honey in so many different ways, for example you can put honey on toast, or you can put it in a cup of tea, and sometimes people use different types of honey to heal hurts and wounds.

Pollination is the process, where bees come along and they start to suck some of the sweet nectar that comes out of the flowers which is at the very bottom, but as they are doing so, they get little dust buds of pollen either stuck to their wings or stuck to their fur. When they move from flower to flower the pollen they got off the stamen (the male part of the flower) falls into the female part of the other flowers which is called the pistil. Next, when the pollen falls into the pistil, it makes tiny seeds, and when the wind blows, it blows those seeds out of the pistil and onto the ground with the soil, and with the help of rain and sunlight those seeds grow into beautiful flowers and plants.

They are good Pollinators they have spent most of their life collecting pollen which is a source of protein to them that they feed on, and because they have probably made all our seeds that we grow to make our trees and they have made most of our flowers and plants. And just because they have pointy stingers, you shouldn’t be afraid of them because they do a lot of things for us all!!!

By: Kaydence