User:Tr3ndyBEAR/plants of interest
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As of February 2024, Catalogue of Life describes 379,410 species of plants in 21,357 genera across 253 orders.
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- Plants that break through concrete or are very hard to get rid of Trema orientalis, Zanthoxylum schinifolium, Prosopis juliflora, Paulownia tomentosa
- Sideroxylon grandiflorum misses the dodo (see: Evolutionary anachronism).
- Plants that practice predator satiation.
- Plants who exhibit poikilohydry like the resurrection plant which rapidly revives apparently dead leaves when the rain comes. Only about 300 species of vascular plants are desiccation-tolerant. Other examples include many aerophytes (like Tillandsia species) and other resurrection plants like Selaginella lepidophylla (an incredible spikemoss that can even detach from its roots if it become too dry).
- Some Boea species (B. hygrometrica and B. hygroscopica) are also known as resurrection plants due to their ability to survive desiccation.
- Craterostigma plantagineum is another resurrection plant. It is in the Linderniaceae family. Under ideal conditions it can become a groundcover.
- More resurrection plants: Sporobolus stapfianus (a grass in dry grasslands in southern Africa, Nigeria, and Yemen. Also resistant to extreme salinity, temperatures, and to ionic radiation)
- Guiera senegalensis a pioneer species, that exhibits hydraulic redistribution making it a very effective companion species.
- Camellia taliensis and other lesser known teas.
- Some plants are capable of thermogenesis (creating heat).
- The last time devil's ivy was recorded flowering was 1964 despite it being a common houseplant.
- Shade trees (umbrella-like canopy) and trees for treehouses:
- ombú is a massive deciduous tree native to the Pampas of South America. Because it is derived from herbaceous ancestors, its trunk consists of anomalous secondary thickening rather than true wood. As a result, it is fast growing, but its wood is soft enough to be cut with a knife.
- Because of its short lifecycle, Arabidopsis lyrata is very useful for research (as with many Arabidopsis species).
- Some plants have been shown to actively promote the growth of their floral microbiomes. For example, the bertram palm bears long-lived (sometimes up to 4 months) flowers to cultivate the growth of yeasts which help the plant produce an alcoholic beverage enjoyed by its mammal pollinators (treeshrews, squirrels, and murids).
- Bullhorn acacia produces beltian bodies on the tips of its leaves. These are very high in protein, fiber, and sugar and have led to the evolution of the only known spider with a mostly herbivorous diet, Bagheera kiplingi. The nectar, which is produced by special glands instead of flowers, is also sipped by the spider. In addition, the tree has coevolved a symbiotic relationship with ant species from Pseudomyrmex who live in the hollowed out thorns and aggressively protect the plant from pests.
- Other interesting topics related to plant adaptations to symbiotic relationships with bugs: food bodies (including pearl bodies, Beltian bodies, and Beccarian bodies), myrmecophytes are plants that live in association with a colony of ants, domatium are produced by certain plants to house ants or other bugs, extrafloral nectaries are specialized nectar-secreting plant glands that develop outside of the flowers usually to feed other organisms, elaiosomes are fleshy structures attached to some plant seeds that are rich in fats and proteins and usually used to attract ants or
- See: Mallotus japonicus, Cayratia japonica, Chelidonium majus, Macaranga spp.
- Nitraria retusa (Nitrariaceae) grows in deserts of northern Africa where it forms nabkhas that create an ecological home for many other species. Humans, camels, and goats alike all enjoy its fruit.
- The !nara melon (Curcubitaceae) has a similar ecological role in the Namib desert.
- The creosote bush (Zygophyllaceae) also plays a similar role in the Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert, and Chihuahuan Desert
- Quercus humboldtii — the only oak that made it to South America
- Sociable weaver birds make complex giant nests out of Stipagrostis ciliata. These nests even host a bird of prey that occasionally feasts on the weavers. They tolerate this because these birds tend to fight off predators that are often even more destructive: snakes and skinks.
- The trees generally used for nest-building are Acacia erioloba, Boscia albitrunca and Aloidendron dichotomum.
- The birds at Etosha National Park also use Colophospermum mopane trees for nesting
- Plants that starred in an article I came across:
- (Acer pseudoplatanus) The Sycamore Gap tree held a particularly deep place in people’s hearts
- (Amelanchier arborea) The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance
- (Boquila trifoliolata) The myster of the mimic plant
- (Boswellia sacra) A Brief History of Frankincense
- (Ferula assa-foetida) The world's semlliest spice (hubski)
- (Ferula drudeana) This miracle plant was eaten into extinction 2,000 years ago—or was it? (hubski)
- (Fritillaria delavayi) This Plant Evolved to Hide From a Predator. It Might Be Us.
- (Ginkgo biloba) Immortal by Default: A brief history of humans and the ginkgo tree
- (Intsia bijuga) Gõ Nước: An Endangered Tree That Offers Hope for Conservation Efforts
- (Marcgravia evenia) A leaf that's loud and proud
- (Nymphaea caerulea) Blue Water Lilies Hold the Key to a Stunning, Different High
- (Triantha occidentalis) The Carnivorous Plant Guild Welcomes a New Member
- (Pinus strobus) White Pine: The Natural and Human History of a Foundational American Tree
- (Spigelia genuflexa) New to Nature No 81: Spigelia genuflexa
- (Welwitschia mirabilis) A Plant That ‘Cannot Die’ Reveals Its Genetic Secrets