Ep. 462 - Resurrecting an Ancient Toilet Brush Tree

In Defense of Plants Podcast

In Defense of Plants

Science & Medicine, Natural Sciences

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2024

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Fossil hunting is like playing the lottery, your odds of hitting big are infinitesimal, but it can happen. Such was the case for Dr. Bob Gastaldo and colleagues when they unearthed the remains of Sanfordiacaulis densifolia, an extinct tree from the Carboniferous Period unlike anything we have ever seen. Join me and Dr. Gastaldo as we take a deep dive into why this tree is so strange and what it can tell us about an ancient ecology. This episode was produced in part by Cathy, Simon, Nick, Paul, Charis, EJ, Laura, Sung, NOK, Stephen, Heidi, Kristin, Luke, Sea, Shannon, Thomas, Will, Jamie, Waverly, Brent, Tanner, Rick, Kazys, Dorothy, Katherine, Emily, Theo, Nichole, Paul, Karen, Randi, Caelan, Tom, Don, Susan, Corbin, Keena, Robin, Peter, Whitney, Kenned, Margaret, Daniel, Karen, David, Earl, Jocelyn, Gary, Krysta, Elizabeth, Southern California Carnivorous Plant Enthusiasts, Pattypollinators, Peter, Judson, Ella, Alex, Dan, Pamela, 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 Indefensive Plants podcast
0:03.8	of Indefensive Plants.com.
0:05.2	What's up this is your host Matt welcome to the show how is everyone doing this week
0:09.2	I'm doing great but I would be doing even better if you decided to support this show.
0:13.1	One of the best ways you can support Indefensive Plants
0:15.8	is to pick up some of our customizable merch.
0:18.0	It's customizable, so you can always find a style that works for you
0:20.9	and the prints are fantastic.
0:22.7	Just head on over to indefensibleplants.com
0:24.7	and click on apparel at the top of the page
0:26.6	or navigate to the show notes for any episode you're listening to.
0:29.5	I put the link in there as well.
0:31.0	I couldn't be doing this without support so consider picking up some
0:34.0	merch today. But speaking of today I have a very special treat for you. Joining us is
0:39.5	Dr. Bob Gestaldo who has spent his career trying to understand weird ancient plants through deep
0:46.8	time.
0:47.8	We're talking Devonian Carboniferous when some of the first forests were evolving on our planet.
0:52.8	Well he and his colleagues recently described a plant that can be best described as a
0:56.4	giant toilet brush.
0:58.6	It's called Sanfordia Collis and it is unlike anything else in the plant record and represents some pretty awesome moments in the evolution of botanical life on this planet.
1:09.0	I don't want to steal any of us thunder because it is a wonderful discovery and he's got some pretty cool
1:13.9	insights into what it was like to live as a plant during that time period.
	...

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