- #1
Phy6explorer
- 109
- 0
Come to know about any amazing plants(which do or have anything amazing) share it here!
Amazing Plants: Come Learn and Share Here!
- Thread starter Phy6explorer
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Interesting Plants
Click For Summary
Discussion Overview
The discussion centers around unique and fascinating plants, particularly those with unusual characteristics or behaviors, such as carnivorous plants. Participants share information and personal insights about specific species, exploring their ecological roles and adaptations.
Discussion Character
- Exploratory
- Technical explanation
- Conceptual clarification
- Debate/contested
Main Points Raised
- One participant introduces the pitcher plant, describing its method of trapping and digesting insects, highlighting its adaptations to nutrient-poor, acidic soils.
- Another participant mentions the Welwitschia mirabilis, noting its lack of reproduction since discovery and suggesting various explanations for its presence, including a humorous reference to extraterrestrial origins.
- The waterwheel plant (Aldrovanda vesiculosa) is discussed as well, with one participant expressing admiration for its rapid movement and unique trap structure.
Areas of Agreement / Disagreement
Participants share enthusiasm for the discussed plants, but there are no clear agreements or consensus on the explanations for the Welwitschia's reproductive status or the implications of its existence.
Contextual Notes
Some claims about the plants' characteristics and behaviors depend on specific ecological contexts and may not apply universally. The discussion includes speculative elements regarding the origins of certain plants.
Who May Find This Useful
Individuals interested in botany, ecology, or unique plant adaptations may find this discussion engaging and informative.
- #2
Phy6explorer
- 109
- 0
Everything that smells great and is beautiful is not always good!
Pitcher Plants
Imagine a beautiful plant that lures insects to their death by a sweet smell. And to top it off, the pitcher plant then proceeds to eat its victim!(That's the whole point of catching it!)
It has a pitcher-like shape that features a deep cavity filled with liquid.The sides of the pitcher are slippery and are grooved in such a way so as to ensure that the insects cannot climb out!Insects are attracted visually or by odour!( Sometimes the pitcher plants multi-task too!)Once the insect falls into the pitcher like body,that's the last thing it would have ever do.The small bodies of liquid contained within the pitcher traps, do three things to the insect:-
1)Trap it
2)Drown it
3)Dissolve it
(It's okay, put that hand-kerchief away, even I felt sad at first)
This may occur by bac(the bacteria being washed by rainfall) or by the enzymes of the plant itself.The insect then becomes a soup of amino, phosphorus,peptides, and other minerals.(Okay, okay, it doesn't sound tasty).This soup is what the pitcher absorbs for its food and nutrition.
Like all insectivorous plants, they occur in locations where the soil is too poor in minerals and highly acidic.Most other plants could not survive in such soil conditions but the pitcher plant does because it gets its nutrition from outside sources(C,mon I want to say poor little insects in a decent way).
Pitcher Plants
Imagine a beautiful plant that lures insects to their death by a sweet smell. And to top it off, the pitcher plant then proceeds to eat its victim!(That's the whole point of catching it!)
It has a pitcher-like shape that features a deep cavity filled with liquid.The sides of the pitcher are slippery and are grooved in such a way so as to ensure that the insects cannot climb out!Insects are attracted visually or by odour!( Sometimes the pitcher plants multi-task too!)Once the insect falls into the pitcher like body,that's the last thing it would have ever do.The small bodies of liquid contained within the pitcher traps, do three things to the insect:-
1)Trap it
2)Drown it
3)Dissolve it
(It's okay, put that hand-kerchief away, even I felt sad at first)
This may occur by bac(the bacteria being washed by rainfall) or by the enzymes of the plant itself.The insect then becomes a soup of amino, phosphorus,peptides, and other minerals.(Okay, okay, it doesn't sound tasty).This soup is what the pitcher absorbs for its food and nutrition.
Like all insectivorous plants, they occur in locations where the soil is too poor in minerals and highly acidic.Most other plants could not survive in such soil conditions but the pitcher plant does because it gets its nutrition from outside sources(C,mon I want to say poor little insects in a decent way).
- #3
jim mcnamara
Mentor
- 4,789
- 3,852
oddball #1:
There is a Welwitschia mirabilis Hook.f. "grove", if those things can form a grove, East of Swakopmund Namibia that have never reproduced since they were found.. Needless to say there are lots of explanations of how they got there to start with.
It is fairly easy to verify the no reproduction thing - they make "cone" fruits that hang around for long time. And no, it isn't an Edgar Allen Poe graveside flowers kind of mystery where you have to invoke parties unseen who come in and swoop up the "cones".
Here is one possible explanation and pictures:
http://caliban.mpiz-koeln.mpg.de/~stueber/wanke/welwitchia/index.html
Of course, the best explanation is that aliens planted them there - just ask Erik Von Donniken IF you ever get a chance to see one you'd think it came from Mars anyway.
oddball #2 Aldrovanda vesiculosa L. the waterwheel plant. It is aquatic, captures small swimmers like Daphnia and then digests them. It is my fave 'carnivorous' plant.
http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq5045.html
There is a Welwitschia mirabilis Hook.f. "grove", if those things can form a grove, East of Swakopmund Namibia that have never reproduced since they were found.. Needless to say there are lots of explanations of how they got there to start with.
It is fairly easy to verify the no reproduction thing - they make "cone" fruits that hang around for long time. And no, it isn't an Edgar Allen Poe graveside flowers kind of mystery where you have to invoke parties unseen who come in and swoop up the "cones".
Here is one possible explanation and pictures:
http://caliban.mpiz-koeln.mpg.de/~stueber/wanke/welwitchia/index.html
Of course, the best explanation is that aliens planted them there - just ask Erik Von Donniken
IF you ever get a chance to see one you'd think it came from Mars anyway.oddball #2 Aldrovanda vesiculosa L. the waterwheel plant. It is aquatic, captures small swimmers like Daphnia and then digests them. It is my fave 'carnivorous' plant.
http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq5045.html
- #4
Phy6explorer
- 109
- 0
Waterwheel plant- certainly amazing!
Thanks for the information, Jim mcnamara!
I liked the waterwheel plant the best because:-
1)The name!The name is really fitting as its traps are arranged in whorls around a central, free floating stem.
2)It is a rarity as it is one of those few plants which show rapid plant movement.
This plant has the most wonderful mechanisms I have ever seen!
Thanks for the information, Jim mcnamara!
I liked the waterwheel plant the best because:-
1)The name!The name is really fitting as its traps are arranged in whorls around a central, free floating stem.
2)It is a rarity as it is one of those few plants which show rapid plant movement.
This plant has the most wonderful mechanisms I have ever seen!
Similar threads
- · Replies 8 ·
- · Replies 1 ·
- · Replies 11 ·
- · Replies 20 ·