Diario de annikasivak

Bracket fungi belong to the family Polyporaceae, and is a basidiomycete fungus that has a variety of medicinal uses. The bracket fungi I observed was found beside the walking path; a large, flat mushroom with a dark brown inner circle. A study called “Ethanol extract of Innotus Obliquus (Chaga mushroom) induces G1 cell cycle arrest in HT-29 human colon cancer cells” from Dongseo University in Korea investigates the effect of Chaga Bracket Mushrooms in treating colon cancer. Colon cancer cells were cultured in Chaga extract, where the speed of the cell cycle was observed. The Chaga extract was successful in preventing the DNA from replicating, thus limiting the number of cancer cell divisions (Lee, 2015). When the cancer cell fails to complete its interphase and cannot proceed to mitosis, it will not divide, and the spread of the disease will slow. These Bracket Fungi have huge impacts on increasing the amount of time cancer patients have to battle the disease, slowing the spread so they can get adequate treatment for the full removal of the tumour, and help them cure the disease!

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My group investigated leaves on Mt. Royal Park, near the McConnell Arena. I was interested in the unique shapes of the leaves in the area, particularity the wide and evenly lobbed edges of Colt's Foot leaves. I noticed that the Colt's foot leaves looked like lettuce, with the stocks a raw purple colour, while the other leaves I observed were thin with large, uneven lobes or serrated edges. Most of the other leaves were smaller and darker in colour. Each of my observations were found further away from the walking path, against the side of a dirt hill. All of the observations were large and bushy, preferring the shade to the exposed dirt path. The Colt's Foot is a eukaryote in the kingdom Plantae. It belongs to the genus Tussilago, with the species name Farfara. It produces yellow buds in the springtime but grows large shaded leaves during late summer and early fall.