Ep. 528 - Flower Color is Complex

In Defense of Plants Podcast

In Defense of Plants

Science & Medicine, Natural Sciences

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 1 June 2025

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On face value, flower colors would seem to have everything to do with pollination, but it is far more complex than that. The pigments that give flowers the colors we can see can have many different functions and how they evolve is a fascinating realm of research. Join me and Dr. Andrea Berardi as we explore floral coloration in two genera - Silene and Petunia. This episode was produced in part by Austin, Sarah, Ethan, Elle, Steve, Cassie, Chuck, Aaron, Gillian, Abi, Rich, Shad, Maddie, Owen, Linda, Alana, Sigma, Max, Richard, Maia, Rens, David, Robert, Thomas, Valerie, Joan, Mohsin Kazmi Photography, 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, Manny, doeg, Daniel, Tim, Philip, Tim, Lisa, Brodie, Bendix, Irene, holly, Sara, and Margie.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	We have customizable apparel for sale. All of our apparel features really awesome vintage
0:05.4	prints of plants, and like I said, they're customizable. You can find a style and color that works for you.
0:10.1	And best of all, you can help support the show and look cool in doing so. If you would like to pick up
0:14.7	some of your own, head on over to indefenseofplants.com and click on apparel at the top
0:18.8	or navigate to the episode notes of your choice
0:21.0	because I put the links down there as well. I can't do the show without you and apparel is one of the
0:25.3	best ways to help support indefensive plants. But speaking of the show, let's get on with it.
0:30.9	Hello everyone and welcome to the indefensive plants podcast, the official podcast of Indefensealplants.com. What's up? This is your host, Matt. Welcome to the show.
0:38.3	How is everyone doing this week? I'm doing great because we are talking about one of the most
0:42.0	complex topics in the world of botany, and that is floral color. If you spend any time
0:47.1	reading about floral color, you realize that what we see as humans is only the tip of the iceberg.
0:52.5	And the whole role of floral color and how plants make their living,
0:56.4	and I'm talking beyond just pollination, is wildly complex, but infinitely fascinating.
1:02.3	And joining us to talk about this is Dr. Andrea Berardi,
1:05.0	and her work has her looking at two groups of plants that will be very familiar with many of our listeners,
1:10.0	the genus Silini and the genus
1:11.6	petunia.
1:12.5	These plants have so much to teach us about floral color, but who better to talk about that
1:16.2	than Dr. Andrea Berardi herself.
1:18.0	So let's just jump right into it without further ado.
1:20.8	Here's my conversation with Dr. Berardi.
1:22.8	I hope you enjoy.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 24 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from In Defense of Plants, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of In Defense of Plants and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.