Ep. 357 - Plant Architecture Revisited

In Defense of Plants Podcast

In Defense of Plants

Botany, Natural Sciences, Ecology, Nature, Plants, Science

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2022

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, we revisit a conversation I had back in 2017 with Dr. Karl Niklas. This is one of my favorite conversations because his work changed the way I look at plant evolution. Dr. Niklas utilizes mathematics to explain plant growth and form in relation to four basic physical constraints: 1) Plants have to capture sunlight and avoid shading their own leaves, 2) Plants have to support themselves structurally, 3) Plants have to conduct water to their various tissues, and 4) Plants must be able to reproduce effectively. Using these basic constraints, he builds mathematical simulations of plant evolution. Join us for a fascinating dive into the biophysical world of plant evolution. This episode was produced in part by Peter, Andrea, Nathan, Karyn, Michelle, Jillian, Chellie, 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 Indefense Plants Podcast, the official podcast of indefenseplants.com.
0:05.8	What's up, this is your host Matt, welcome to the show. How's everyone doing this week?
0:09.8	Today we're going back in the archives to look at an episode that was mentioned in the last week's
0:14.2	episode with Dr. Jeff Banka. We were talking about plant architecture, you know, shape, form,
0:19.9	function, that sort of thing, and he brought up the work of Dr. Carl Nicholas. And it reminded me
0:24.6	that I spoke with Dr. Nicholas back in 2017. This is one of the most informative and exciting
0:30.9	conversations I've had in my entire time doing this podcast. And why not bring it back for those
0:36.3	that haven't heard it yet? Now remind you, I did this in 2017, so I didn't have all this fancy
0:42.1	recording equipment. I was doing it on a bare bones, almost no budget. So yes, I know the sound
0:47.3	quality is a little less than stellar. You do not have to email me about it, I'm aware. But it's
0:53.6	listenable. So just take it for what it is and appreciate how far the podcast has come since that.
0:59.6	But before we get to that conversation, I have a quick message from my friends over at Radio Lab.
1:04.8	Hey, there's a bunch of really great stuff here to suck on. What? On Radio Lab? We're going up.
1:10.4	These trees are huge. Into the tree top. It's like being a detective to chase a mystery.
1:15.7	There's something going on up here. What's about to happen? Oh my gosh. And stumble into a secret
1:22.6	garden. This is amazing. I know, I know. In the sky. Forests on forests. Listen wherever you get
1:32.7	podcasts. Alright, make sure to check out Radio Lab and Science Friday. But until then, let's
1:38.6	send on over to my conversation with Dr. Carl Nicholas. I hope you enjoy.
1:56.4	Thank you for coming on the podcast. How about you give us a nice introduction to who you are
2:00.0	and what it is you do? Well, I'm a professor at Cornell University in the department of
2:07.9	Plant Biology. I teach some of the introductory courses. But my research is principally in an area
2:15.6	called Biophysics, which is the application of physics, mathematics, and biomechanics to
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