Ep. 535 - Quillworts Revisited

In Defense of Plants Podcast

In Defense of Plants

Science & Medicine, Natural Sciences

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 20 July 2025

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Their ancestors once dominated the coal swamps of the Carboniferous Period, growing into massive trees that could reach upwards of 160 feet (50 m) into the canopy. Today, the quillworts (Isoetes spp.) are all that remains of this lineage. Though cosmopolitan in their distribution, quillworts can be hard to find unless you know where to look. Luckily, there are people like Dr. David Wickell who have placed them at the center of their scientific focus. Dr. Wickell is hard at work helping to uncover the mysteries of these wonderfully strange lycophytes. Join us as we revisit a conversation that covers everything from CAM photosynthesis to the role of hybridization in speciation in these incredible and mysterious plants. This episode was produced in part by Blake, Josh, Laure, R.J., Carly, Lucia, Dana, Sarah, Lauren, Strych Mind, Linda, Sylvan, 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

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0:00.0	Conversations like you're about to hear do not happen unless you support In Defensive Plants.
0:04.0	And now more than ever, we need conversations like this to reach as many ears as possible.
0:09.0	One of the best ways to help keep In Defensive Plants up and running is to become a patron over at patreon.com slash In Defensive Plants.
0:16.0	In return for a tiny bit of support each month, you will get access to a completely separate podcast. It explores
0:21.5	a lot of really fun gardening topics, everything from seed collection and storage to growing native
0:26.1	plants, the struggles of trying to garden in different climates, and so much more. It's a heck of a lot
0:31.7	of fun. We're learning so much, and we're trying to share that with you. So come on and join the
0:35.8	Patreon over at patreon.com slash indefensive plants and help keep this show up and running in the process. I hope to see you over there. But in the meantime, on with the show. Hello everyone and welcome to the Indefensive Plants podcast, the official podcast of Indefensiveplants.com. What's up? This is your host, Matt. Welcome to the show. How is everyone doing this week? I thought that this week was a great time to revisit a conversation about some of the coolest,
0:58.8	but totally underappreciated plants in the world, the quill warts. Their ancestors once
1:03.7	dominated the coal swamps of the Carboniferous period, growing into massive trees that could
1:07.7	reach well over 100 feet in height. Today, the genus Issaides are all that remains of this lineage.
1:13.8	Though they are cosmopolitan and their distribution, Quilwarts can be hard to find,
1:17.7	unless you know where to look.
1:19.1	And that's where people such as then PhD student Dr. David Wickel come into play.
1:24.2	This conversation was had back in 2021 when Dr. Wickle was hard at work helping to uncover
1:29.0	the many mysteries that surround these strange lycophytes. This was such a fun and engaging
1:33.6	conversation that I don't want to keep you from it any longer. Without further ado,
1:37.1	let's revisit my discussion with Dr. David Wickle. I hope you enjoy.
1:57.1	All right, David Wickel, it's awesome to have you on the podcast. I'm really excited to talk with you today, but let's start off by introducing yourself.
2:00.7	Let's tell everyone a little bit about who you are and what it is you do. Yeah, so my name
2:05.4	is David Wickle. I just finished my third year of my PhD program at Cornell. Congrats.
2:11.0	In Fayway Lee's lab, Fern extraordinaire. Though now I think he's more onto bryophytes than ferns these days. It happens. But yeah, I mean, fern extraordinaire, though now I think he's more onto bryophytes than ferns these days.
	...

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