Wednesday, May 7, 2008

The Year of "Jack in The Pulpit"

Pertama kali denger namanya "Jack in The Pulpit' yaitu waktu anakku sedang ngerjain PR ilmu sains dari sekolahnya. Dan Ketika kami jalan-jalan ke Ringing Rock Parks di Pennsylvania, dia nemu satu tumbuh di bawah pepohonan di sana. Kita langsung foto2 taneman (bunga liar) itu soalnya menurutku nama dan bentuk tanamannya unik dan lucu (lihat aja di foto). Bentuknya seperti tanaman kantung yang suka makan serangga (aku gak tau namanya) itu tapi ada tongkat yang penuh biji-bijian muncul dari bagian dalam kantong itu, dan bagian kantong yang di atas menutup sedikit ke bawah. Kantongnya ada yang warna coklat tua kemerahan dan ada yang hijau agak putih, kita nebaknya mereka tanaman jantan dan betina tapi gak tau pasti yang mana yang jantan yang mana yang betina.

Setelah liat pertama kali di Ringing Rocks Park itu, kita jadi selalu nyari2 tanaman itu di taman di kota kita, hackettstown atau di mana aja kita pergi hiking, jogging ataupun pas jalan kaki santai. Dan setiap kali kita nemu si jack itu kita pasti berhenti untuk mengaguminya sekali lagi.
Lalu sepanjang musim panas yang udaranya makin panas, biji2annya berubah warna jadi merah cerah, oranye dan kuning...dan kita sekali lagi makin seneng sama tanaman ini.
Terus selanjutnya pas musim salju (dingin) udah selesai dan musim semi datang lagi tahun ini, kita mulai nyari2 taneman itu lagi di taman kota kita pas kita jogging/jalan kaki pagi hari atau sore. Taneman ini baru mulai tumbuh di awal bulan April .. dan kali ini mereka tumbuh banyak sekali, lebih banyak daripada tahun lalu. Mereka ada di mana-mana , di setiap sudut dan pojokan taman pasti ada. Makanya kita sebut tahun ini Tahunnya si Jack in the Pulpit!
Kita seneng nyari mereka di sepanjang jalan setapak di tanah di antara tanaman lain yang juga mulai bermunculan di musim semi ini. Kayaknya seru nyari warna hijau di antara warna hijau lainnya, mereka kelihatan sama tapi berbeda. Rasanya seperti kalo kita nyoba konsentrasi mau dengerin bunyi bas gitar di tengah lagu "Hotel California"nya The Eagle. Awalnya memang susah untuk cuma dengerin bas gitarnya aja, tapi sekali kita bisa nangkep bunyinya pasti seru deh dengerinnya, coba aja! dan kalau Anda punya kesempatan jalan2 di sebuah Taman (di Amerika bagian Utara) coba deh cari "Jack in the Pulpit" di antara tanaman hijau lainnya di tanah .... dan selamat menikmati!

Kalau Anda ingin tahu lebih banyak tentang si Jack in the Pulpit (latinnya: Arisaema triphyllum) tanaman asli dari daerah benua Amerika bagian Utara ini , baca aja lebih lengkap di sini Jack in The Pulpit
Berikutnya (kaming sun) adalah bunga liar favorit kita yang lain yaitu "The Lady Slipper" Walaupun agak susah nyarinya, kita akan coba kasih tau tipsnya untuk menemukan tanaman ini. Jadi sering2 tengok aja ya!

_______________ english version _______________

The first time we heard the name "Jack in The Pulpit" was when our son, mentioned it when he was doing his science class project. And then when we visited The Ringing Rocks Park in Pennsylvania, he pointed one on the ground under the trees in the park. We took pictures of the plant (wild flower), because we thought the shape of it and the name was really cool (see the picture) it was like some kind of green seeds sticking to a stick pointing up inside a bag (pulpit) that has a cover, and the plant only has two or three leaves. Some of the pulpit has a dark brownish reddish color and some has lighter green whiteish color, we guessed they were male and female plants...we dont know which one is which for sure though.

After we saw it the first time in the Ringing Rocks Parks, we started looking for it wherever we went hiking in our own town park or in other places we went to for jogging or walking or hiking. And whenever we see it we always stop to check on the plant and admiring it all over again. Along the time when the summer is getting hotter, the seeds in the pulpit turning color into dark bright red and orange and yellow...we were once again think it was really really cool!!!...
After the winter was finally over we started looking for the plants again in our park when we did our jogging/walking in the morning or early evening. They just started to grow again in the beginning of April.. and....now there are a lot of them, more than last year, They were everywhere, in all and every corner of the park even under the part that is really shady. That is why we call this year "Year of Jack in the Pulpit" We like to look for them along the trails in the ground among all the plants that was also growing or springing during the spring time. It was fun looking for them (green) between the other greens, they looked the same yet different, it just like trying to focus on listening just to the bass guitar playing in the song "Hotel California" by The Eagle...at first you will have difficulty just listening to the bass guitar..but once you caught the sound you will be able to enjoy it more. Try it! ...it is really fun, and when you walk in a park try to look for a "Jack in the Pulpit" among the other greens in the ground....and have fun!!!


If you want to know more about the plant (latin : Arisaema triphyllum) natives of North America region ...read more here
Jack in The Pulpit
coming soon, our other favorite wild flower "The Lady Slipper". Although more difficult to find we will giving you hints and tips on finding them, so stop back often!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

okay... I keep looking!

Xtina said...

Good luck and have fun Poy!