Ep. 564 - Leaf Fossils from a Hot House Climate
In Defense of Plants Podcast
In Defense of Plants
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 8 February 2026
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Journey back in time some 60 million years to the Cenozoic with Dr. Ellen Currano by looking at fossil leaves. Aside from just being cool, leaf fossils can tell us a lot about the ecology of long extinct ecosystems. For instance, leaf margins can tell you about things like temperature while leaf size can tell you about precipitation. Also, looking at fossilized insect damage can reveal important insights into how climate influences herbivory. Join us for a deep dive on the myriad scientific insights fossil leaves can provide. This episode was produced in part by Neil, Matthew, April, Dana, Lilith, Sanza, Eva, Yellowroot, Wisewren, Nadia, Heidi, 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.
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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 podcasts. |
| 0:21.0 | It explores a lot of really fun gardening topics, everything from seed collection and storage |
| 0:25.2 | to growing native plants, the struggles of trying to garden in different climates, and so much |
| 0:30.2 | more. It's a heck of a lot of fun. We're learning so much, and we're trying to share that with you. |
| 0:34.5 | So come on and join the 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'm doing |
| 0:54.5 | great because we are getting back in the time machine after quite a while, actually, to go back in time to look at some really cool paleobotanical questions. |
| 1:02.6 | Joining us to talk about this is Dr. Ellen Carrano, who studies a specific time of Earth's history called the Cenozoic, which features some pretty fascinating hot house earth |
| 1:11.6 | conditions. Her work looks at a lot of different plant traits, as well as fossilized evidence of |
| 1:17.2 | herbivory, to make inferences not only about the past, but what it can tell us about our potential |
| 1:22.6 | future. This is such exciting work, and Dr. Carrano is very passionate about this subject matter. |
| 1:28.1 | So who better to tell you all about it? |
| 1:29.7 | Let's just jump right into it. |
| 1:30.8 | Without further ado, here's my conversation with Dr. Ellen Carrano. |
| 1:33.8 | I hope you enjoy. |
| 1:50.8 | Thank you. All right, Dr. Ellen Carrano, welcome to the podcast. |
| 1:52.6 | I am so stoked to talk to you today. |
| 1:54.2 | But first, let's start off with an introduction. |
| 1:57.0 | Tell everyone a little bit about who you are and what it is you do. |
| 1:58.6 | Yeah, absolutely. |
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