Ep. 354 - Of Orchids & Fungi

In Defense of Plants Podcast

In Defense of Plants

Science & Medicine, Natural Sciences

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2022

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The relationship between orchids and mycorrhizal fungi is not necessarily a harmonious one. From day one, orchids live more like parasites than mutualists. Understanding these relationships is not only fascinating but crucial to orchid survival. Join me and Dr. Lawrence Zettler as we explore what has been learned about this relationship and how it is being used in orchid conservation efforts. This episode was produced in part by Linda, Laura, Miz Holly, Christie, Carlos, Paleo Fern, Levi, Sylvia, Lanny, Ben, Lily, Craig, Sarah, Lor, Monika, Brandon, Jeremy, Suzanne, Kristina, Christine, Silas, Michael, Aristia, Felicidad, Lauren, Danielle, Allie, Jeffrey, 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.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello everyone and welcome to the End of Fence of Plants Podcast, the official podcast of
0:04.6	indefenceofplants.com. What's up? This is your host Matt, welcome to the show. How's everyone
0:08.8	doing this week? I am doing great yet again because my guest is someone I've been a fan of for
0:14.8	a very long time. Joining us is Dr. Lawrence Zettler who has dedicated his life to understanding
0:20.0	the interactions between orchids and their fungal symbionts. You hear a lot about plants and fungi
0:26.4	these days, a lot of it is getting tainted by media and interpretations, but Dr. Zettler has a
0:31.9	wonderful scientific insight into the realities of these relationships as they relate to orchids and
0:37.6	ecosystem health. This is super inspiring work, very important work and I don't want to keep you
0:42.4	from it any longer, so let's dive in. Without further ado, here's my conversation with Dr. Zettler.
0:47.9	I hope you enjoy.
1:03.2	All right, Dr. Lawrence Zettler, it is an honor to have you on the podcast. I've been a fan of
1:07.7	your work for a long time. Let's introduce yourself, start off by telling us a little bit about
1:12.7	who you are and what it is you do. Well, I am a teacher primarily, but I also have worked with
1:20.4	undergraduate students in the research lab in Illinois College. And if you go back in time, maybe
1:27.1	not quite to the stone age as it goes, I was raised in rural north central Florida outside of
1:33.7	Gainesville. I was very introverted, had a very, very few friends and a lot of my time was spent
1:41.5	catching insects and snakes and lizards and I had built an observatory. I had a butterfly
1:49.3	collection built in all airplanes, you name it, but I was very much introverted and kind of learned
1:55.6	about things on my own with a select group of friends. My father was a professor at the University
2:01.7	of Florida and he was actually considered to be the world's authority on work, on work
2:08.4	advises during the 80s. And so he inspired me quite a bit as I was developing and growing up.
2:15.6	My mom was a kindhearted mother. She really liked and appreciated nature and she made sure I had
	...

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