Create accountLogin

Recent searches

No recent searches

Search options

Only available when logged in.
c.im is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
C.IM is a general, mainly English-speaking Mastodon instance.

Administered by:

Server stats:

2.9K
active users

c.im: AboutStatusProfiles directoryPrivacy policy

Mastodon: AboutGet the appKeyboard shortcutsView source codev4.3.6

#botany

81 posts62 participants0 posts today
Public
Flipboard Science Desk

Scientists from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland are arguing that the massive and mysterious tubelike fossils known as "prototaxites" deserve their own life form classification because, basically, they're too weird to belong to any other. @Futurism has more, including why prototaxites have long been a head-scratcher and a point of contention for scientists who to this day cannot figure out their nature:

flip.it/V6vZpG

Futurism · Scientists Puzzled by Giant Ancient Life FormsBy Noor Al-Sibai
#Science#Geology#Earth
Public
Holger Dörr
#gießen #giessen #botanischergarten #Hessen #fotografie #naturfotografie #photography #mittelhessen #naturliebe #naturelovers #naturephotography #deutschland #spring #mittelhessen #springtime #botany #gießenentdecken #blumenfotografie #BotanicalGarden

Gießens grüne Schatzkammer🌿🪷🌴

Der Botanische Garten in Gießen ist wieder offen - und zeigt sich im Frühling von seiner schönsten Seite. Ein Lieblingsort zum Durchatmen, Staunen und Abschalten mitten in der Stadt.
Nahaufnahme einer zarten gelben Blütentraube der Glockenhasel (Corylopsis pauciflora) im frühen Frühling. Die feinen Blüten hängen glockenförmig an einem dünnen Zweig, im Hintergrund unscharfes Grün und bläuliche Farbtupfer von weiteren Pflanzen. Natürliche, weiche Lichtstimmung mit sanfter Tiefenunschärfe.
Nahaufnahme eines blauen Sibirischen Blausterns (Scilla siberica) zwischen frischem, grünem Gras und abgestorbenen Halmen. Die zarten Blütenblätter leuchten in verschiedenen Blautönen, leicht benetzt von kleinen Wassertropfen. Im Hintergrund zeigen sich erste Frühlingszeichen – ein stilles, natürliches Erwachen.
Eine lilafarbene Seerose mit gelbem und rötlichem Zentrum steht im Fokus. Die Blume hebt sich leuchtend vom dunkelgrünen Hintergrund der Wasseroberfläche ab. Sanfte Lichtreflexe auf den Blättern verleihen dem Bild eine ruhige, harmonische Atmosphäre.
Nahaufnahme eines blauen Sibirischen Blausterns (Scilla siberica) zwischen frischem, grünem Gras und abgestorbenen Halmen. Die zarten Blütenblätter leuchten in verschiedenen Blautönen, leicht benetzt von kleinen Wassertropfen. Im Hintergrund zeigen sich erste Frühlingszeichen – ein stilles, natürliches Erwachen.
Public
Andrew Kuchling

One question I often use at book club if the discussion runs down is "what did you learn from this book that surprised you?" For THE LIGHT EATERS: HOW THE UNSEEN WORLD OF PLANT INTELLIGENCE OFFERS A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE ON EARTH, by Zoë Schlanger, you could ask that question for almost every chapter because it's just a parade of astonishing discoveries about plants. Did you know that:

* Plants that move in response to stimuli, like Venus flytraps and the Mimosa pudica (a.k.a the sensitive plant), are anaesthetized by ether?

* Arabidosis plants react to the sound of caterpillers chewing on their leaves, producing defensive compounds?

* Time-lapse videos of parasitic vines show them twining and 'sniffing' around to find a suitable tree branch?

Another such parasitic vine, the boquila, can shape-shift to a degree, adjusting the shape of their leaves to match the leaves of the tree they're on. It's not clear how they know what shape to take: they will mimic the shape of tree species not native to their South American environment and can also imitate artificial leaves, so it seems like they must be using some form of vision.

Talk of plant responsiveness, or 'intelligence', is tainted by flimsy work in the 1970s that hooked up plants to polygraphs and photographed their auras. The modern work surveyed in this book is therefore pretty cautious, but it presents a growing amount of evidence that plants really are more able to respond to the environment & communicate with each other. I was not expecting to enjoy a book about botany this much!

Cover of the book "THE LIGHT EATERS: HOW THE UNSEEN WORLD OF PLANT INTELLIGENCE OFFERS A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE ON EARTH", by Zoë Schlanger
#books#bookstodon#plants
ExploreLive feeds
About