Ep. 324 - Palms Through Deep Time
In Defense of Plants Podcast
In Defense of Plants
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 4 July 2021
⏱️ 57 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Palms (Arecaceae) are among the best known and easily recognizable groups of plants on Earth. Their diversity is staggering and they play important roles in the ecology of the habitats in which they grow. But how much do we know about their evolutionary history? What can a deep time perspective teach us about palm evolution. Joining us to talk about this is paleobotanist Dr. Kelly Matsunaga. Dr. Matsunaga uses the palm fossil record to investigate a variety of palm-related topics from the evolutionary origins of modern palm diversity to the origins of tropical rainforests. This episode was produced in part by Amanda, Tommy, Marcel, C Leigh, Karma, Shelby, Christopher, Alvin, Arek, Chellie, Dani, Paul, Dani, Tara, Elly, Colleen, Natalie, Nathan, Ario, Laura, Cari, Margaret, Mary, Connor, Nathan, Jan, Jerome, Brian, Azomonas, Ellie, University Greens, Joseph, Melody, Patricia, Matthew, Garrett, John, Ashley, Cathrine, Melvin, OrangeJulian, Porter, Jules, Griff, Joan, Megan, Marabeth, Les, Ali, Southside Plants, Keiko, Robert, Bryce, Wilma, Amanda, Helen, Mikey, Michelle, German, Joerg, Cathy, Tate, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Lynn, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Brett, Jocelyn, Ethan, Sheryl, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Chris, Alana, Rachel, Joanna, Lori, Paul, Griff, Matthew, Bobby, Vaibhav, Steven, Joseph, Brandon, Liam, Hall, Jared, Brandon, Christina, Carly, Kazys, Stephen, Katherine, Mohsin Kazmi Takes Pictures, Manny, doeg, Daniel, Tim, Philip, Tim, Lisa, Brodie, Bendix, Irene, holly, Sara, and Margie.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello everyone and welcome to the In Defense of Plants podcast, the official podcast of Indefenseauplants.com. What's up? This is your host, Matt. Welcome to the show. How's everyone doing this week? Today we're going to be talking about palm trees and the origins of their diversity. Few of you out there will not have seen a palm tree or at least recognize the overall shape of a palm tree because they're ubiquitous, especially in tropical |
| 0:21.6 | areas around the globe. But the question of where they came from and how they got to be what they |
| 0:26.0 | are today lies in a big way in the fossil record. And that's exactly what my guest is here to talk about. |
| 0:33.3 | Joining us from the University of Kansas and Lawrence is Dr. Kelly Matsunaga. |
| 0:43.1 | Dr. Matsunaga uses the plant fossil record to understand how plant form and diversity has changed over time, what kinds of major patterns and processes under lie plant evolution, |
| 0:47.9 | and how biotic and abiotic processes influence the diversity of plant lineages. |
| 0:52.1 | And as I mentioned, this is all going to be focused on palms today because they have left behind an incredible fossil record. More than that, they can tell us |
| 0:58.9 | something about how ecosystems such as tropical rainforests evolved, as well as the history of |
| 1:03.1 | biogeography on this continent. But before that, I have a quick announcement for you. |
| 1:07.7 | Hey, friends, are you interested in plant science and conservation but don't know how or where to |
| 1:12.2 | start? Well, listen up because I have really exciting news for you. In 2022, the Oak Spring Garden |
| 1:17.8 | Foundation will award their annual early career fellowships, which includes two plant science-related |
| 1:23.0 | fellowships. The first is the fellowship in plant science Research, and this will be awarded to one plant |
| 1:28.3 | scientist with preference for those working on organismal plant biology. So if you have interest |
| 1:32.6 | in a specific type of plant, a genus, maybe a species, that's the one for you. The second |
| 1:37.7 | is the Fellowship in Plant Conservation Biology, which will be awarded to one plant |
| 1:41.8 | conservation biologist who is working on projects to conserve |
| 1:44.7 | plants as well as the landscapes and ecological systems that they comprise. |
| 1:48.8 | Now my favorite part about this is both of the fellowships will include a $10,000 individual grant |
| 1:53.5 | and a two to eight week stay at the Oak Spring Estate in Upperville, Virginia. |
| 1:57.5 | I have been to this estate. |
| 1:58.7 | It is amazing what's going on there. |
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