Day 3 cont
"Easy there. I hope you are feeling alright today. Is your body sore?" He asks with so much concern.
To say that I feel ashamed right now is an understatement of the year.
What is he thinking?
To make matters even worse, he comes forward and tries to help me out of her grip so that he can help me out instead.
I am so angry right now that I don't even know if I should shun him or not, so he held my arms by his shoulder, lifted me off, and carried me in bridal style.
Let me die already from shame.
I just hid my face from the rest of the world and kept on pretending that it's all in my head and not real.
He placed me on a chair and then sat beside me.
I just looked down, playing with my fingers.
"Here, drink this," he says, placing a cup of water in my mouth.
I chugged down the cup of water, along with my shame.
Then he started feeding me with his own hands again, in broad daylight, giving everyone around the show a life that I'm sure they'll never forget.
Well, at least I won't forget.
Hours later, we are now on our way again.
We are currently walking by the side of the river, which, if you ask me, is quite risky as it just rained yesterday and suddenly we stopped.
"Good morning, everyone. I want us to take a minute here and admire the beauty of this nature," a woman announces.
So, that's how we stopped to look at what I didn't know we were actually looking at.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? You look so down today. Are you still sick? And why are you wearing a face mask?" Lily asks all these questions at the same time.
She, of all people, should know what my predicament was.
"No, it's nothing; I just want to get rid of the excess air," I say.
"Oh! I thought you were getting sick, or maybe I should call the professor."
"No," I was quick to say.
I have been avoiding him all day since he put up all that show in front of everyone.
"Why..."
"Now everybody, gather around; I want to tell you about this beauty over there," the woman announces again.
This woman is so obsessed with beauty.
Funny though that she isn't allowed to wear it in here, or else I would have loved to see her face all painted up.
"Now you see, this aquatic plant is called pistia; I'm sure you must have heard of it, right?" she starts.
"Ok, Pistia is a genus of aquatic plants in the arum family, Araceae; it is the sole genus in the tribe Pistieae, which reflects its systematic isolation within the family, and the single species it comprises, Pistia stratiotes, is often called water cabbage, water lettuce, Nile cabbage, or shellflower," she says.
'Its native distribution is uncertain, but it is probably pantropical; it was first discovered in the Nile near Lake Victoria in Africa, and it is now present, either naturally or through human introduction, in nearly all tropical and subtropical freshwaterways and is considered an invasive species as well as a mosquito breeding habitat."
"The genus name is derived from the Greek word pistos, meaning water, and refers to the aquatic nature of the plant, like we all see here."
"Pistia stratiotes is a perennial monocotyledon with thick, soft leaves that form a rosette, which makes it float on the surface of the water, and its roots are hanging submerged beneath the floating leaves." She pauses for a bit.
"If not for yesterday's rain, I would have plucked a plant for you, but the river is a bit too heavy to go in now," she says.
"Ok, let's continue, shall we? The leaves can measure 2–15 cm long and are light green because of their chlorophyll content. Of course, with parallel venations and wavy margins, the surface of the leaves is covered in short, white hairs that form basket-like structures that can trap air bubbles and increase the plant's buoyancy."
"The spongy parenchyma with large intercellular spaces in the leaves also aids the plant in floating, and the flowers of this particular plant are dioecious, also lack petals, and are hidden in the middle of the plant amongst the leaves."
"Pistia stratiotes has a spadix inflorescence, containing one pistillate flower with one ovary and 2–8 staminate flowers with two stamens. The pistillate and carpellate flowers are separated by folds in the spathe, where the male flowers are located above the female flowers."
"An oval, green berry with ovoid seeds forms after successful fertilization, and the plant undergoes asexual reproduction by propagating through stolons, but mind you, evidence of sexual reproduction has also been observed in the ponds of southern Brazil," she says.
"Pistia stratiotes are found in slow-moving rivers, lakes, and ponds," she continues.
"So, it's pretty obvious to say that the part of the river they are on does not have much water flow," she says.
"The species displays optimal growth in the temperature range of 22 to 30 °C but can endure extreme temperatures up to 35 °C, and so, as a result, Pistia stratiotes do not grow in colder temperatures beyond the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. I hope you are getting it?" she asks.
We all nodded.
I accidentally looked at the instructor's side, and my eyes were instantly met by the professor's, and I looked away quickly.
"The species also require slightly acidic water in the pH range of 6.5 to 7.2 for optimal growth," she continues.
"Water lettuce is among the world's most productive freshwater aquatic plants and is considered an invasive species. The species can be introduced to new areas by water dispersal, fragmentation, and hitchhiking on marine transportation or fishing equipment."
"The invasion of Pistia stratiotes in the ecosystem can lead to environmental and socio-economic ramifications for the community it serves."
'In waters with high nutrient content, particularly those that have been contaminated with human loading of sewage or fertilizers, water lettuce can exhibit weedy overgrowth; it may also become invasive in hydrologically altered systems such as flood control canals and reservoirs; the severe overgrowth of water lettuce can block gas exchange in the surface water, creating hypoxic conditions and eliminating or disrupting various native marine organisms; blocking access to sunlight; large mats of water lettuce can shade native submerged plants; and alter communities relying on these native plants as a source of food."
"The growth of these mats can also get tangled in boat propellers and create challenges for boaters or recreational fishermen," she pauses to take a breath.
"Pistia stratiotes also acts as a vector for malaria and filariasis. Mosquitoes of the genus Mansonia can lay their eggs under the leaves of aquatic plants, such as Pistia stratiotes, and twenty-four hours later, the emerging larvae attach to the plant's roots using its siphon tube for respiration. Within a week, larvae can develop into adult mosquitoes, making Pistia stratiotes a breeding ground for infectious diseases," she continues.
"The moth, Samea multiplicalis, also uses Pistia stratiotes as its primary host plant; it lays its eggs among the leaves and stems of the host plant, and larvae hatch and feed intensively as they develop."
"Also, the center of origin of Pistia stratiotes remains uncertain; however, the plant is thought to be native to South America or Africa, as described in Egyptian hieroglyphics and reported by Greek botanists Dioscorides and Theophrastus in the Nile River, suggesting an African origin."
"In addition, the co-evolution of Pistia stratiotes with various insects native to Brazil and Argentina, such as the water lettuce weevil, proposes a South American origin," she says.
"While considered edible, Pistia stratiotes is not palatable as it is rich in calcium oxalate crystals that are bitter in taste."
"The Hausa people of Nigeria utilized the ash of the plant as a substitute for salt due to its high concentration of potassium chloride, a mineral salt. This salt substitute, also called 'zakankau,' was of high importance, especially when imported salt was unavailable."
"As a hyperaccumulator, Pistia stratiotes has been studied as a potential candidate for wastewater treatment plans, as the roots and leaves of the plant have been found to absorb excess nutrients and heavy metals, such as zinc, chromium, and cadmium, in contaminated waters."
"Pistia stratiotes can also be grown in water gardens to reduce harmful algal blooms and eutrophic conditions. The plant is able to control the growth of algae by restricting light penetration in the water column and competing for nutrients, with a significant uptake of phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen."
She keeps going on and on about this plant. I thought it would never end, but alas, it did.
Through out today, I have made sure to avoid each and every person I know, and to make matters worse, Lily kept on asking me silly questions as to whether I am still sore and why I would be.
I just had some leg cramps, and now they are gone.
**********
Late in the day, almost close to dusk, we finally arrived at the rhino ridge.
Without wasting any time, we all went straight to bed. Well, some had to take their meals, but as for me, all I wanted was a bed—a real bed—to sleep on, and I had finally set my eyes on one.