In Defense of Plants Podcast
Episodes
Ep. 476 - Ashes, Roses, and the Great Southern Brood
02 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Conservation Biologist Sara Johnson returns to the podcast to talk about some of the botanical rabbit holes we have been exploring in recent weeks. We...
Ep. 475 - Island Restoration Needs Plants
26 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Islands are hotbeds for unique biodiversity. Strange and unique island plants form the foundation of strange and unique ecosystems. Sadly, the human h...
Ep. 474 - Untangling Cryptic Diversity
19 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes the differences between species are vast (e.g., a maple and an oak) but other times they are subtle to the point of requiring a trained eye ...
Ep. 473 - Root Evolution Revisited
12 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There is no denying that roots are one of the most important organs on a plant. However, unless its an epiphyte, root activity takes place underground...
Ep. 472 - Snorkelwort & Friends are X-Treme!
05 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Any organism that ephemeral gravel puddles home must be ready to deal with extremes. That is what makes snorkelwort (Gratiola amphiantha) and its aqua...
Ep. 471 - Chasing Rare Oaks
28 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Boynton/Alabama sandstone (Quercus boyntonii) and Georgia oaks (Q. georgiana) are among the rarest oaks in North America and yet we know so little abo...
Ep. 470 - Rethinking Water Lettuce
21 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) has long been maligned for its invasive tendencies. This floating aquatic aroid grows fast and responds well to poor...
Ep. 469 - Blue Butterworts & Friends
14 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Southeast is one of North America's biodiversity hotspots. Any trip through this region will be rewarded with lots of botanical splendor if you kn...
Ep. 468 - Plants, Structure, and Habitat
07 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I have said it before, and I will say it again: plants ARE habitat. Nowhere is this fact more apparent than in the field of wildlife ecology. From foo...
Ep. 467 - Roots & the Struggle for Nutrients
31 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Competition for nutrients is a major driver of plant evolution, especially in nutrient-poor soils. As such, plants have evolved myriad ways of getting...
Ep. 466 - Fire in the Mountains
24 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Appalachian region may not readily seem like a fire-prone region, but parts of it certainly are. Fire can be an important tool in sustaining biodi...
Ep. 465 - Studying Ancient Wildfires
17 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Wildfires are familiar to those living on Earth today, but what about in the past? How does one go about studying ancient wildfires through deep time?...
Ep. 464 - Back from the Brink
10 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Good news is hard to come by in the world of plant conservation, but it is out there! Take, for instance, some recent examples on Santa Cruz Island in...
Ep. 463 - Digitizing an Extinct Tree
03 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How does one breath life into an extinct tree only known from fossils? There are a lot of answers to this question, but my guest today decided to go d...
Ep. 462 - Resurrecting an Ancient Toilet Brush Tree
25 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fossil hunting is like playing the lottery, your odds of hitting big are infinitesimal, but it can happen. Such was the case for Dr. Bob Gastaldo and ...
Ep. 461 - Litter Trappers Revisited
18 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Litter trapping plants don't worry about soil, they make their own! Because so many species in the tropics grow either epiphytically or in nutrient po...
Ep. 460 - Floral Chemistry Revisited
11 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For Dr. Rob Raguso, the phrase "stop and smell the roses" takes on a whole new meaning. Dr. Raguso studies the intricate world of floral chemistry. Yo...
Ep. 459 - Pigments & Plant Stress
04 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Plant pigments certainly catch the eyes of many organisms, but they serve many important functions beyond simple attraction. For instance, plant pigme...
Ep. 458 - Plant Stress
28 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Plant stress starts at the molecular level but can influence entire ecosystems. That is why questions about drought, heat, and climate change fuel Dr....
Ep. 457 - The Wild World of Wet Plants
21 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Plants obviously need water to survive, but how do they interact with water in a more physical sense? How plants like trees capture and distribute pre...
Ep. 456 - Cattail Invasion Revisited
14 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What wetland scene would be complete without a few cattails? The genus Typha is synonymous with wetlands yet as you will hear in this episode, we know...
Ep. 455 - The Many Mysteries of Seed Dormancy
07 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We take seeds for granted, yet still have much to learn about how they work. What factors play in to seed dormancy? How long can some seeds remain dor...
Ep. 454 - An Orchid that Smells Like Aphids Revisited
31 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is Melissa Díaz-Morales from the Jardín Botánico Lankester in Costa Rica and her work focuses on orchid pollination. Orchids are kno...
Ep. 453 - Small Flies & Orchid Diversity Revisited
24 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We revisit a conversation with PhD student Melissa Díaz-Morales and Director of the Lankester Botanical Gardens, Dr. Adam Karremans to look at how fl...
Ep. 452 - The Many Mysteries of Orchid Pollination
17 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Knowing what we don't know can be as important as knowing what we do. Even highly charismatic plants like orchids harbor many mysteries in need of inv...
Ep. 451 - Darwin & the Art of Botany
10 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us are familiar with Darwin's finches and the impact animals made on his work, but what about his obsession with plants? Indeed, plants were a...
Ep. 450 - Canopy Life in the World's Tallest Trees
03 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) can grow so big and gnarly that their canopies support entire ecosystems. From lichens and liverworts, to ericaceous s...
Ep. 449 - Aquascaping Revisited
26 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The world of aquatic plants is incredibly diverse, yet our ties to land make it difficult to fully appreciate these organisms. Their glory and splendo...
Ep. 448 - Why Fish Need Plants
19 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It may not seem obvious at first, but fish need plants too! From aquatic to terrestrial, plants provide fish places to breed, places to eat, and place...
Ep. 447 - Black Belt Biodiversity
12 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The black belt prairie is a crescent-shaped grassland ecosystem curving through Mississippi and Alabama that supports high biodiversity. Sadly, like g...
Ep. 446 - Bats: Friends of Plants
05 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bats and plants rely on each other more than we know. From pollination and seed dispersal, to pest control and unexpected relationships, Dr. Merlin Tu...
Ep. 445 - Mountain Longleaf
29 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) is a remarkable species that defines much of the Southeastern Coastal Plain of North America. However, this species is...
Ep. 444 - Steppe Plants Revisited
22 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For Mike Bone, propagating and growing plants is not just a hobby or a job, it's a way of life. Mike is the curator of the steppe collections at the D...
Ep. 443 - Flowers & Fire
15 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Grasslands and fire are essentially inseparable. For the most part, grassland can't exist without periodic burns. But, are the beneficial effects of f...
Ep. 442 - Of Wolves & Forests
08 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Predators like wolves are an integral part of ecosystem health. Moreover, their interactions with their herbivore prey can have major consequences on ...
Ep. 441 - Seed Acceleration
01 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What do witch hazel seeds and a speeding bullet have in common? Acceleration! Join me and Justin Jorge as we explore the ecomechanics of seed dispersa...
Ep. 440 - Plants, Bees, and the Microbes They Share
24 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Besides pollination, what do flowers and bees have in common? Microbes, of course! From mutualists to pathogens and everything in between, Dr. Quinn M...
Ep. 439 - Inside the Illicit Succulent Trade
17 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Succulent poaching is a global black market business. The demand for succulents of all kinds is putting undue pressure of myriad species, many of whic...
Ep. 438 - Dinosaurs & Plants Revisited
10 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Who hasn't marveled at the fossilized remains of a dinosaur? Though their lineage lives on today in the form of birds, historically, dinosaurs were on...
Ep. 437 - Save the Shoal Lily
03 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The shoal lily (Hymenocallis coronaria) is a truly special plant. It is found in only a few rivers throughout southeastern North America where it will...
Ep. 436 - Red Spruce Restoration
27 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Plants are habitat! This means that to restore ecosystems, we would be wise to start with plants. Such is the case for the spruce-fir forests of south...
Ep. 435 - Chara Revisited
20 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chara represent the earliest stages of true plant evolution. They are also model organisms for a wide variety of research questions. Join me as we rev...
Ep. 434 - Moths are Important Pollinators
13 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode celebrates moths as pollinators. We ignore or even malign moths at our own peril. Dr. Stephen Robertson joins us to talk about how even c...
Ep. 433 - What Drives Orchid Diversity?
06 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What drives orchid evolution? Why are places like Colombia so rich in orchid diversity? What constitutes a species across different orchid genera? Que...
Ep. 432 - The Importance of Seagrass
30 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With approximately 60 species spread across four families, seagrasses are a wonderfully diverse group of marine aquatic plants. They are also extremel...
Ep. 431 - The Mysteries of Lycopod Evolution
23 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Lycopods and their relatives enjoy a nearly global distribution today, but extant diversity is still a mere shadow of what it once was. My guest today...
Ep. 430 - Seedlings in the Mycorrhizal Network
16 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What affects mycorrhizal communities? How do these communities influence trees and their seedlings? Do the relationships differ between angiosperms an...
Ep. 429 - Ancient Leaf Homes Revisited
09 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Plants and arthropods have a long evolutionary history that involves plenty of interaction. If you know where to look, evidence of such history can be...
Ep. 428 - Bama Flora
02 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Alabama is known for things like football, but thanks to the efforts of people like Dr. Brian Keener, it is also coming to be known for its bewilderin...
Ep. 427 - Unraveling the Mysteries of Mycorrhizal Networks
25 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we continue our journey in the world of mycorrhizal interactions with Dr. Jason Hoeksema. Join us as we investigate the ecological an...
Ep. 426 - Plants and Habitat Fragmentation
18 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How does habitat size affect plant populations? What happens to plants and insects when two smaller habitats are connected by a habitat corridor? Thes...
Ep. 425 - What Data Tell Us About the "Wood Wide Web"
11 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The concept of the wood wide web in which trees are connected with one another via underground fungal networks has captured imaginations around the gl...
Ep. 424 - Uncovering the Mysteries of Galls
04 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Galls are perplexingly complex and, in many ways, mysterious structures. Galls are induced by another organism living within the tissues of the host p...
Ep. 423 - Plant-Microbe Interactions are Complex
28 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It is impossible to make broad generalizations about the complex relationships between plants and microbes, but such challenges have not stopped Dr. A...
Ep. 422 - Investigating Invasiveness
21 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What makes some plants invasive? This is an extremely complex question with many possible answers, but that hasn't stopped Dr. Kali Mattingly from tac...
Ep. 421 - Pawpaw & Floral Mimicry Revisited
14 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The world of floral mimicry really busts open traditional views on pollination. This spectrum of strategies involves things like poop and carrion mimi...
Ep. 420 - Botany in the Big Apple
07 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As our world becomes increasingly urbanized, understanding how plants adjust to such conditions has never been more important. Cities like New York ha...
Ep. 419 - Ant Dispersal Revisited
30 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What started as a question about some strange "seeds" in ant ant nest turned into an explosion of scientific investigations into the links between oak...
Ep. 418 - Resisting the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
23 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The hemlock woolly adelgid has devastated hemlock populations throughout eastern North America and climate change is only going to make things worse f...
Ep. 417 - Coping with Change as an Alpine Plant
16 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Environmental change is something that all organisms must deal with throughout their life. This is especially true for long-lived plants. Adapt or die...
Ep. 416 - Duckweed Microbiomes
09 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The group of plants collectively referred to as "duckweeds" are full of superlatives. Duckweeds boast the smallest flowers in the world, the smallest ...
Ep. 415 - Inside the Minds of Bees
02 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Thoughts, Memories, Personalities... These aren't concepts that readily jump to mind when someone says bees, but Dr. Stephen Buchmann is here to tell...
Ep. 414 - Tales from an Accidental Botanist
26 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to habitat rehabilitation, making native plant diversity a high priority will greatly increase your chances of success. Healthy, diverse...
Ep. 413 - Down the Redbud Rabbit Hole
19 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to plants, there are more unknowns than knowns, even for very familiar species. You never know where even seemingly simple questions can...
Ep. 412 - A Trip on the Scrub Mint Time Machine
12 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The links between plant taxonomy, evolution, geology, and conservation are not always obvious. It can be very difficult to seamlessly tie these worlds...
Ep. 411 - Chollas & Biodiversity Revisited
05 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Dr. Jon Rebman decided to take on the diversity of cholla cacti, little did he know what he was getting into. Luckily, this work led him down a r...
Ep. 410 - Phenology is Important
26 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Phenology is defined as "the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life." Far from be...
Ep. 409 - Butterflies in a Changing World
19 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Butterflies and plants are inextricably linked. It stands to reason then that if you want healthy butterfly populations, you first need plant diversit...
Ep. 408 - Prairie Up!
12 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Do you want to bring native plants into your life in ways that will inspire others? Do you want to turn whatever space you have into habitat that fost...
Ep. 407 - Orchid Bees: Botanical Perfumers
05 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Orchid bees are not your average pollinators. Hailing from tropical regions of the Americas, these little gems have complex relationships with a varie...
Ep. 406 - Reconstructing Ancient Plants
29 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take to reconstruct a plant that went extinct hundreds of millions of years ago? How do you find the right context to place it in when so...
Ep. 405 - Early Land Plants & Earth's Ancient Climate
22 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The earliest days of land plant evolution have long thought to have occurred in a hot house environment fueled by high CO2 levels. However, recent inv...
Ep. 404 - The Secrets of Vanilla Dispersal
15 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Vanilla scent and flavoring is loved the world over, but what is the story behind vanillin, the compound responsible for producing these properties? M...
Ep. 403 - Fossil Bryophytes Revisited
08 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The odds of any living material becoming fossilized are extremely rare, especially if that living thing is a moss, liverwort, or hornwort. It does hap...
Ep. 402 - Plant Communities & Trails
01 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wondered about the impact of outdoor recreation on plant communities? Trinie Chisholm certainly has. Together with her colleagues, Trini...
Ep. 401 - Seeing the Forest for its Bats
25 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Many bats need forests and, as it turns out, those forests need bats. We are well aware that the majority of North America's bats eat insects, but wha...
Ep. 400 - The Root of an Ancient Mass Extinction
18 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We take plant roots for granted, but there was a time in Earth's history when roots had yet to evolve. As you are going to hear from Professor of Eart...
Ep. 399 - Remembering a Cycad Defender
11 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is dedicated to the memory of world-renowned cycad expert Dr. Nathalie Nagalingum who sadly passed away. I first spoke with Dr. Nagalingu...
Ep. 398 - Tall Trees & the Habitats They Create
04 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tall trees are true marvels of nature in and of themselves, but the habitats they create can take our fascination and appreciation to whole new levels...
Ep. 397 - Grappling with the Hawthorns
27 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The hawthorns (Crataegus spp.) are in intriguing group of small trees. They are members of a genus that has sparked plenty of controversy and debate a...
Ep. 396 - The Secrets of Seagrass Pollination
20 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For seagrasses, living life underwater comes with a lot of unique challenges, not the least of which is pollination. This is especially true when you ...
Ep. 395 - Botany in the Garden
13 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I am a big fan of the "grow it to know it" philosophy. Growing plants provides so many important insights into the botanical world. However, for so ma...
Ep. 394 - Insect Herbivory Past & Present
06 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Insect herbivory is a major driver of ecosystem processes across ecosystems, but how has it changed through time? Wouldn't it be amazing to travel bac...
Ep. 393 - Threats to U.S. Trees
30 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What are the threats to all the trees in the U.S.? To answer this question, you first have to figure out how many species there are and comb through d...
Ep. 392 - Botanizing Down Under
23 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Plant ecologist Sara Johnson and I look back at a recent botanical adventure in southern Australia with fondness. Never before have we been exposed to...
Ep. 391 - A Non-Model, Model Plant Group
16 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today we are focusing on a strange genus of plants in the family Euphorbiaceae. The Dalechampia can be found growing in tropical forests throughout mu...
Ep. 390 - Pinosaur Revisited
09 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Wollemi pine is one of the world's rarest trees. These mysterious gymnosperms was unknown to science until 1994. Their discovery made headlines ar...
Ep. 389 - Old Growth Grasslands
02 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ep. 388 - Sprucey Soils
25 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Plants help create soil just as much as they depend on it for their survival. Understanding how this affects the ecosystems that plants comprise can p...
Ep. 387 - A Sequenced Fern Genome
18 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ferns may have an ancient evolutionary history and enjoy something of a celebrity status among the botanically and non-botanically minded alike, but a...
Ep. 386 - Rethinking Black Walnut Allelopathy
11 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"Don't garden under a black walnut!" If you garden in eastern North America, you may have heard some form of this advice at one point or another. Inde...
Ep. 385 - Plants = Habitat
04 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Habitat destruction is the leading cause of extinction on this planet. Plants = Habitat. There is no way around it. We revisit a conversation I had wi...
Ep. 384 - Arborvitae on the Limit
28 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Edge of range dynamics are always fascinating. Range edges present lots of unique challenges for which plants must contend. When you throw humans into...
Ep. 383 - Aroid Pollination is Wild!
21 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode, we revisit a conversation I had with University of Vienna PhD student Florian Etl regarding an in depth look at a pollination system inv...
Ep. 382 - The Rediscovery of an Extinct Oak
14 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Extinction due to human activity is a terrible thing, but every once in a while, a species thought to be extinct is rediscovered. If we are extremely ...
Ep. 381 - American Ginseng Revisited
07 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) and why is it becoming increasingly rare in North American forests. In this episode, we revisit a conve...
Ep. 380 - Learning to Grow Plants on the Moon
31 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can we grow plants in moon soil or regolith? If so, how are they going to respond? These are the kinds of questions Dr. Robert Ferl and his colleagues...
Ep. 379 - Tiny Orchids & Protected Forests
24 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we revisit a conversation I had with Lou Jost, founder of Fundación EcoMinga back in 2019. When Lou Jost and friends realized how quickly ...
Ep. 378 - Dracula Orchids & the Threat of Gold Mining
17 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Dracula Reserve in Ecuador was formed with orchids at the center of its focus but it is home to untold numbers of species. New discoveries are mad...
Ep. 377 - The Whitebark Pine's Complicated Future
10 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is a cornerstone of the ecology of western North America. Whether its their direct interactions with animals lik...