You might be seeing decorative skeletons in people’s yards because spooky season is here! When you think of a skeleton, who does it belong to? A human? Or maybe a fish, snake or crow?
Have you ever thought of plants having a skeleton?
Materials
An adult to help you during all steps of this project
A variety of sturdy, waxy leaves
A cooking pot
A wooden spoon
A stovetop
Super Washing Soda (not baking soda)
Eye protection and gloves
A soft toothbrush or paintbrush
A flat tray
Water
Time frame
3 days or more
Instructions
Go outside and collect a variety of leaves. Big, strong, waxy leaves work best for this project. (Remember, collecting leaves or anything else from a forest preserve is not allowed!)
Using eye protection and gloves, and with the help of an adult, mix 3/4 cup of Super Washing Soda into a pot of simmering water. Slowly add the leaves to the water.
Add water as necessary to ensure the leaves remain under water.
After simmering for an hour or two, carefully check your leaves.
Use the wooden spoon to remove one leaf.
Gently rinse and lay one leaf on the flat tray with a little bit of water.
Gently brush the leaf with the soft toothbrush or paint brush to remove the leaf matter. Be careful; if you brush the leaf too hard, it will tear.
If the leaf matter is not being wiped away, return the leaf to the pot and simmer the leaves for another hour or two.
Repeat the process of attempting to gently brush away the soft, pulpy part of the leaves, leaving behind the delicate lacy veins.
Let the leaf dry on a paper towel for an hour.
To dry the leaf skeleton flat, put the leaf between some paper towels and place a heavy book on top. Let sit for a few days.
What is happening here?
In nature, after leaves fall from a tree and settle to the ground, they begin to break down. With the help of decomposers like springtails, snails and earthworms, leaves and other organic matter decompose and return to the earth.
The forest floor holds no shortage of objects to look for. It brings familiar flora year after year while showing us new surprises. Finding a rare, lace-like leaf skeleton in the wild might feel like a bit of magic. The conditions have to be just right for a leaf skeleton to form. It requires the right mix of dampness for the leafy matter to break down while being shady and protected enough for decomposers to eat away at the leaf. Then you have to be lucky enough to come across that leaf at just the right time, before the entire leaf fully decomposes.
Leaves become skeletonized by insects. There is a material within plant veins that allow it to decompose more slowly than the rest of the leaf. These plant fibers are more durable in the veins, making this material more difficult for decomposers to digest, so it is the last to end up being fully decomposed. The softer, pulpy part of the leaves decomposes more quickly, returning nutrients to the soil and leaving behind the intricate veins of the leaf.
Take it further!
Observe the delicate veins of the leaves you collected. Collect two of each leaf to see the before and after of the leaf skeleton you created with a fresh leaf from the same tree.
Use your leaf as a bookmark. Tape it to the window as a suncatcher. Put it in a picture frame. Give it to a friend. Compare and contrast how your leaf has changed.
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