Ep. 265 - Ancient Trees: Living on the Edge
In Defense of Plants Podcast
In Defense of Plants
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 17 May 2020
⏱️ 68 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What does it take to live many hundreds or even thousands of years? For trees, it often means growing in places like cliffs where few other things can. My guest today has studied ancient cliff dwelling trees from all over the world and has uncovered some of the oldest living forests on our planet in the process. Joining us is Dr. Doug Larson whose work demonstrates that, far from excluding life, extremely harsh habitats can serve as refugia for plants and all of the organisms they support. Join us for one of the most mind blowing scientific journeys I have ever had the pleasure of encountered and along the way, learn what these ancient trees can teach us about our species and more. This episode was produced in part by Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Vaibhav, Kendall, Christina, Brett, Jocelyn, Kathleen, Ethan, Kaylee, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Donica, Chris, Shamora, Alana, Laura, Alice, Sarah, Rachel, Joanna, Griff, Philip, Paul, Matthew, Clark, Bobby, Kate, Steven, Brittney, McMansion Hell, Joey, Catherine, Brandon, Hall, Vegreville Creek and Wetlands Fund, Kevin, Oliver, John, Johansson, Christina, Jared, Hannah, Katy Pye, Brandon, Gwen, Carly, Stephen, Botanical Tours, Moonwort Studios, Liba, Mohsin Kazmi Takes Pictures, doeg, Clifton, Stephanie, Benjamin, Eli, Rachael, Plant By Design, Philip, Brent, Ron, Tim, Homestead Brooklyn, Brodie, Kevin, Sophia, Mark, Rens, Bendix, Irene, Holly, Caitlin, Manuel, Jennifer, Sara, and Margie.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Would you like more In Defensive Plants each month? |
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| 0:13.1 | slash Indefensive Plants and consider becoming a patron. |
| 0:16.7 | And as always, thank you for your continued support of Indefensive Plants. |
| 0:20.3 | Together we are helping cure plant blindness around the world one episode at a time. |
| 0:26.4 | Hello, everyone, and welcome to the In Defensive Plants Podcast, the official podcast of |
| 0:30.7 | Indefensive Plants.com. |
| 0:32.3 | What's up? This is your host, Matt. Welcome to the show. How's everyone doing this week? |
| 0:35.8 | Are you hanging in there? Today's episode is certainly going to help take your mind off of things because this is one of the most fascinating discussions I have had in all the years I've been making this podcast. |
| 0:45.4 | It's not to take away from other guests. I talk to amazing people each and every week, but today's discussion is about a really incredible topic. |
| 0:53.3 | Joining us is Professor Emeritus, Dr. Doug Larson, to talk about his work on some of the oldest trees on our planet. |
| 0:59.3 | And by extension, some of the oldest forests as well. |
| 1:02.5 | I'm not talking about coastal redwoods or even necessarily the bristlecone pines found at high elevation. |
| 1:07.7 | I'm talking about trees that live on cliff faces around the world. |
| 1:10.6 | And as you're |
| 1:11.0 | going to hear, these incredibly inhospitable and harsh habitats have protected these trees for thousands |
| 1:17.3 | of years. It's amazing that time and again we're seeing the worst places for humans, the most |
| 1:22.3 | inaccessible places for humans, are often the most vital places for life to persist and maintain itself for many, many |
| 1:29.5 | years. So I don't want to keep you from this. Like I said, this is one of the coolest discussions |
| 1:32.9 | I've ever had. So without further ado, here's my conversation with Doug Larson, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. |
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