Abstract
"Is it possible to promote the construction of knowledge about phenotypic plasticity expressed by plants among elementary school students?” To answer this question, it was proposed to carry out experiments together with second year students of elementary school using the plant popularly known as Boldo Mirim (Plectranthus neochilus Schlechter). The objective of present study was to describe the results of the experiment performed on cuttings of Boldo Mirim raised in two types of soil [plant compost + poultry manure (3:1) or earthworm humus + bovine manure (1:1)], two types of light source (20 W lamp or sunshine) at four intensity (10%, 30%, 50%, or 100%). This experiment was attended by 21 children with ages ranging from 10 incomplete years to 10 years old. The positive experimental results showed how the light source and the nutritional richness of the soil are important determinants of plant survival and growth. The negative results involving absence of root development in plants under artificial lighting (20 W lamp) instigated the children to elaborate a hypothesis to be tested explaining this. The children’s drawings made after the planting and at the end of the experiments plus the answers obtained during group discussions revealed that they were able to build knowledge about the ability of plants to respond to environmental variables such as soil type and sunshine intensity, expressing phenotypic plasticity.
Highlights
Phenotypic plasticity is defined as the change in the phenotype of a genotype as a function of the environment (Scheiner, 1993)
“Is it possible to promote the construction of knowledge about phenotypic plasticity expressed by plants among elementary school students?” To answer this question, it was proposed to carry out experiments together with second year students of elementary school using the plant popularly known as Boldo Mirim (Plectranthus neochilus Schlechter)
The children’s drawings made after the planting and at the end of the experiments plus the answers obtained during group discussions revealed that they were able to build knowledge about the ability of plants to respond to environmental variables such as soil type and sunshine intensity, expressing phenotypic plasticity
Summary
Phenotypic plasticity is defined as the change in the phenotype of a genotype as a function of the environment (Scheiner, 1993). Boldo Mirim is a shrub no higher than 50 cm, has an African origin and is used to treat digestive disorders It is commonly cultivated in Brazilian medicinal gardens and those in European and Asian countries (Lukhoba et al, 2006; Rosal, 2008; Rosal et al, 2011; Lima, 2017; Lima et al, 2017a, 2017b). This plant shows increases in internode length (distance between leaves along the branches), and size of leaves in response to differences in environmental conditions, such as reduction in light intensity, richness in soil nutrients and composition, and increase in altitude (Rosal, 2008; Rosal et al, 2011; Lima, 2017; Lima et al, 2017a, 2017b)
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