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Oni2:Slaves of War/Neo-Biology: Difference between revisions
Oni2:Slaves of War/Neo-Biology (view source)
Revision as of 20:14, 11 October 2011
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"On and on it goes. It seems the more you learn, the less and less and less and less and less you know." -- Apollo Sunshine, "The Egg" | "On and on it goes. It seems the more you learn, the less and less and less and less and less you know." -- Apollo Sunshine, "The Egg" | ||
Let's look at real plants to get some inspiration. It seems that peering into nature closely only demonstrates how incapable we are of imagining anything stranger or more alien than the actual life that exists on this planet. Here's some stand-out examples: | Let's look at real plants to get some inspiration. It seems that peering into nature closely only demonstrates how incapable we are of imagining anything stranger or more alien than the actual life that exists on this planet. Plants that hear, plants that don't need soil, plants that Here's some stand-out examples: | ||
===Sensitive plants=== | ===Sensitive plants=== | ||
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===Resurrection plants=== | ===Resurrection plants=== | ||
Here's a [http://www.types-of-flowers.org/pictures/resurrection_plant.jpg Rose of Jericho]. Here's a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rose_of_Jericho.gif Rose of Jericho on water]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl5gBJGnaXs Any questions?] | *Here's a [http://www.types-of-flowers.org/pictures/resurrection_plant.jpg Rose of Jericho]. Here's a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rose_of_Jericho.gif Rose of Jericho on water]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl5gBJGnaXs Any questions?] | ||
*The waterwheel plant above is also a resurrecting plant, by this same definition of the word. | |||
It might be more accurate to say that they are hibernating plants or sleeping plants rather than "resurrecting plants", but I didn't invent the term. | |||
===Self-planting plants=== | ===Self-planting plants=== | ||
Some plants, such as the newly discovered [[wikipedia:Spigelia_genuflexa|Spigelia genuflexa]], actually plant their own seeds in the ground. | Some plants, such as the newly discovered [[wikipedia:Spigelia_genuflexa|Spigelia genuflexa]], actually plant their own seeds in the ground. | ||
===[[wikipedia:Explosive dehiscence| | ===[[wikipedia:Explosive dehiscence|Exploding plants]]=== | ||
Some plants get bored waiting for Mother Nature to send wind or insects to help them spread seeds or pollen, and take matter into their own hands. | Some plants get bored waiting for Mother Nature to send wind or insects to help them spread seeds or pollen, and take matter into their own hands. | ||
*The [http://web.williams.edu/Biology/explodingflower/movies.html White Mulberry tree] spreads pollen by firing shots at half the speed of sound. | *The [http://web.williams.edu/Biology/explodingflower/movies.html White Mulberry tree] spreads pollen by firing shots at half the speed of sound. | ||
===[[wikipedia:Epiphytes|Air plants]]=== | |||
Who says that plants need little things like roots, and soil to put them in? [[wikipedia:Spanish moss|Spanish moss]] and numerous other plants can be found hanging from trees. They aren't parasitic; they absorb all their minerals and water from run-off that rain brings down the tree, as well as from rain itself. They may absorb moisture directly from the air as well. Spanish moss hardly performs any photosynthesis, appearing as a dead gray or pale green mass of hair-like leaves. Somehow this plant can still manage to put out small flowers, and it positively thrives in the southern U.S., where it can weigh down oaks and other trees. | |||
===[[wikipedia:Parasitic plant|Parasitic plants]]=== | |||
Plants are supposed to be autotrophic, meaning that they manufacture their own food (unlike animals). The key to autotrophism is photosynthesis. However, some plants have decided to take a detour off of Photosynthesis Road and into Parasite Alley. They use a special root known as a [[wikipedia:haustorium|haustorium]]. Rather than pulling nutrients from the ground, this root pulls nutrients directly from another plant. It works by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hyaloperonospora-parasitica-hyphae-haustoria.jpg winding into the host plant's cellular structure] and sucking on cytoplasm. Eventually they can expand from inside of the host, replacing it with the parasite's body. Haustoria are traditionally used by fungi like mildew, putting parasitic plants in a strange middle ground between their autotrophic brethren and the separate Kingdom Fungi. | |||
==Other Stuff== | ==Other Stuff== | ||