Content Highlights - Catnip (Nepeta cataria)

Do you have a Cat? If so, the greatest pleasure for it could be a gift that contains a plant called Catnip!

Nepeta cataria from Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem.

Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is up to 60 cm high perennial plant, blooming with white to pink flowers between July and September. The plant grows in highlands, along the watercourses or paths. The genus name “Nepeta” is derived from an old Roman city of Nepete (nowadays Italian city of Nepi) around which Catnip grew. The species name “cataria” means that it is attractive for cats.

Nepeta cataria from BHL.

This plant contains a substance called nepetalactone, which has similar effects for cats as cocaine has for people. If cats smell Catnip, they literally lost their mind, rubbing the plant or rolling in the plant. Some scientists think that it is actually a special strategy of seed dispersion. The seeds of Catnip get captured in the cat’s fur and then are bandied around. It is possible to buy cat’s toys filled by dried Catnip. Dry Catnip could also be hallucinogenic for people. Stay tuned!

Joachim Barrande

Joachim Barrande was born on August 11^th 1799 in the town of Sauges in southern France. During his studies at the École Polytechnique and École des Ponts et chaussées he was interested in natural sciences. He went to lectures of Georges Cuvier, Jean B. Lamarck, Alexander Brongniart and other great naturalists of that time. After his graduation, Barrande worked as an engineer and designed, for instance, a bridge over the Loire River. Then he became the tutor of Henry, Count of Chambord, the grandson of King Charles X. Bourbon. Unfortunately, after political changes in 1830, the Bourbons were expelled from France. Barrande left together with the Bourbons to settle in Edinburgh for a short time, and then traveled to the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now the Czech Republic).

Cephalopods from Barrande's "Systême silurien..."

Soon after arriving to Prague, Barrande met some of the main Czech literates such as František Palacký or Count Kaspar Sternberg (Sternberg was one of the founders of the National Museum and a great palaeobotanist). Sternberg suggested Barrande to take charge of the upcoming construction of the railroad from Křivoklát to the Radnice. During exploration work Barrande discovered, to his surprise, that rocks all around contain excellently preserved fossils. The project of the railroad was eventually cancelled and Barrande became the administrator of the estate of Henry of Chambord. Because he had a lot of free time, Barrande undertook paleontological excursions around Prague where he collected fossils. In collecting, he was assisted by amateur collectors, often workers from quarries, which Barrande paid.

Brachiopods from Barrande's "Systême silurien..."

In 1843 Barrande invited a Scottish geologist Sir Roderick Murchison to visit Bohemia. Murchison confirmed that all fossils are of Silurian age (Cambrian to Devonian in today's concept). After Murchinson´s pattern, Barrande decided to write a treatise about Silurian fossils of Central Bohemia. The first volume of the "Systême silurien du centre de la Bohême" was published in 1852. In his life Barrande published 22 volumes, which make almost 6000 pages and over 1000 lithographic plates in total. More than 3550 species of Paleozoic organisms (trilobites, crustaceans, cephalopods, bivalves, brachiopods and others) were described and illustrated. Owing to Barrande’s technical education all descriptions and illustrations of the fossils were very precise. That is one of the reasons why his work is unique even for today´s standards.

See Barrande's material from National Museum, Prague in Europeana.

In 1883 Barrande went to Frohsdorf in Vienna, where he found his former ward of Henry of Chambord on his deathbed. A few hours after his arrival, however, Henry died. Barrande took care of Chambord’s testament. He unfortunately fell ill with pneumonia during the work and died on October 5^th 1883 at the age of 84. Barrande dedicated his huge collection, library, field notes, and 10,000 Guldens to the National Museum. The region between Pilsen and Prague has been named after Barrande, as well as the Prague city district of Barrandov, etc.

Read Barrande’s work here. Stay tuned!

Delicacy and danger from the woods

In many countries in Europe and elsewhere around the world, mushroom collecting is a popular activity especially during summer and autumn. Mushrooms are an ingredience to our meals, although many of them are known to be dangerously poisonous to humans. But did you know that there are animals which are able to resist the poison? Or that collecting mushrooms dates back to the middle-ages when the mushrooms were called “meat of the poor ones”?

Scaly Tooth (Sarcodon imbricatus), edible - image is under CC BY-NC-SA of Danish Mycological Society.

For humans, mushrooms are important in medicine (e.g. Penicillium), as model organisms, are used as drugs (e.g. Psilocybe bohemica) and in gastronomy (Boletus, Agaricus). For example, about 3 000 of large mushroom species occur in Middle Europe, 400 of which are poisonous (e.g. Amanita muscaria)  and 10 can even cause death (e.g. Amanita phalloides, Entoloma sinuatum).

Lacrymaria pyrotricha, edible - image is under CC BY-NC-SA of Natural History Museum of Denmark.

Mushrooms are world-wide distributed organisms inhibiting a wide range of mostly terrestrial habitats from deserts to tropical forests. In the past, they were classified among plants but are nowadays being considered a sister group to the animals. Mushrooms play an essential role within ecosystems as decompositors of organic matter and thus contribute largely to nutrient cycles. Mushrooms are also important symbionts of for example plants (e.g. trees) and algae (lichens) but they live as parasites or may be associated with animals (incl. humans).

Yellow Morel (Morchella esculenta), edible - image is under CC BY-NC-SA of Danish Mycological Society.

Gregor Johann Mendel - born July 20th 1822

191 years ago, the father of modern genetics Gregor Johann Mendel was born on July 20th in a small village of Hynčice (now part of Czech city of Vražné).

Gregor Johan Mendel - image from BHL.

Mendel came from a German family and since his early childhood he was interested in nature and even studied beekeeping. At the age of 18, Mendel started his studies of philosophy and physics at the University of Olomouc. Later, he trained as a priest and took over the name Gregor. At that time, Mendel published several works on meteorology and founded the Austrian Meteorological Society in 1865. He also spent several years at the University in Vienna.

European Honey Bee by Richard Bartz - image is under CC BY-SA of EoL.

In 1867, Mendel became an abbot of a Augustinian Abbey of St. Thomas in Brno. There, he started his research and experiments on plant hybridisation and also bred bees. To conduct the research, Mendel cultivated and bred thousands of pea plants and experimented also with bees. As a result of his experiments, Mendel formulated basic principles of inheritance, today known as Mendel´s Laws of Inheritance. However, the importance of Mendel's contribution to science was recognized only after his death.  

Pea (Pisum sativum) - image is under CC BY-NC of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Read Mendel´s book from Biodiversity Heritage Library here. Stay tuned!

Content Highlights - Small Shelly Fauna

Early in the Earth history, at the beginning of the Cambrian period, the first assemblage of multicellular organisms with hard skeletal parts appeared. In the Lower Cambrian rocks, paleontologists all over the world have discovered minute shells and sclerites which are together called “small shelly fauna”.

Aldanella kunda from Europeana - image is under CC BY-SA of Museum of Geology, University of Tartu.

Small shelly fauna is an artificial designation of various skeletal parts of various groups of animals. This fauna appeared in fact just before the beginning of the Cambrian period, but its greatest diversity is achieved in the early Cambrian.

Detail of Aldanella from Europeana - image is under CC BY-SA of Museum of Geology, University of Tartu.

Shape of sclerites varied from conical shells, spines to small plates. Some of these fossils look familiar, for instance Aldanella, which clearly is a mollusk. Others look strange and could represent fragments of larger organisms like sponges, velvet worms related animals, brachiopods, etc.

Fossils of the small shelly fauna are usually composed of calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate or silica. These minerals might not have originally built the shell; they rather replace the original material during fossilization. It is assumed that the invention of the shell in some of these organisms is a consequence of the onset of first predators.

Content Highlights - Auroch (Bos primigenius)

Did you know that the auroch is the predeccessor of present domestic cow and that the last auroch died in 1627 in the Jaktorów Forest, Poland?

Bos primigenius from Europeana - image is under CC BY-SA of Museum of Geology, University of Tartu.

Auroch was a large, even-toed ungulate (Artiodactyla) herbivore with short black hair and gray or yellowish stripe across the back in males and reddish-brown hair in females. The animal grew up to 2 m of height and 800-1000 kg in weight. Aurochs were pressumablly bound to swamps and swamp forests, such as river valleys, river deltas, and bogs, but they might have also lived in drier forests and perhaps in open grasslands. The animals lived in herds and has social behaviour similar to present domestic cattles.

Bos primigenius from BHL.

As evidenced from fossil remains and other proofs (painting in caves, artefacts), Bos primigenius first appeared in India 2 million years ago and was first domesticated there as early as 9 thousand years ago. From India, Bos primigenius migrated into the Middle East and reached Europe about 270 thousand years ago. In Europe, the animal was among the largest post-glacial herbivores and went domesticated about 6 000 years ago. In a summary, Bos primigenius originally inhibited most of Europe, Northern Africa, middle East, central Asia and India being a common prey of humans as early as in the Paleolite. Hunting finally led to its extinction in the 17th century. Only the Eurasian subspecies (Bos primigenius primigenius) managed to survive until now and is at present distributed worldwide under domestication. From the original species, it differs in smaller size and weight, colour and usually shorter horns. Since the beginning of the 20th century, attemps have been made to breed the original auchor back from the domectic cattles and thus return it back to the wild after 400 years.

Content Highlights - Houseleek (Sempervivum)

Houseleek is a flowering plant which occurs in rockeries and rooftops. Did you know that since antiquity, houseleeks were planted on roofs, because it was believed that they guarded homes against lightning and fires? Indeed, it could create a fire-resistant layer on the roof.

Houseleek from Europeana - image is under CC BY-SA of
Biologiezentrum der Oberoesterreichischen Landesmuseen. 

Houseleeks occur in about fifty species, from northern Africa, through Europe, to the Caucasian mountains. They occupy hilly to mountainous terrain in these areas. They are succulents - plants adapted to growth in places with little water. They prefer rocky outcrops and rock steppes. They are very undemanding, both for nourishment and for water.

Houseleeks from BHL.

Houseleek juice is rich in nutrients, has disinfectant properties and is an anti-inflammatory. Similarly to aloe vera, houseleeks are very effective in treating burns, scaldings, frostbite and sunburn. They reduce pain from insect bites, alleviate itching, redness and swelling.

Learn more about houseleek in "nature at your home". Stay tuned!