Ep. 587 - Cloning & Conservation in Plants
In Defense of Plants Podcast
In Defense of Plants
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 19 July 2026
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Cloning may seem like a futuristic topic largely reserved for science fiction but plants are doing it all the time. Clonality is one of the many aspects that can make plant species successful across the landscape. It can also greatly impact the way we approach plant conservation efforts. Despite the importance of cloning in plants, we still know very little about how its influences plant population dynamics. Which plants are clonal? How long can clones live? How does cloning influence pollination? These questions and more are what drive people like Dr. Ashley Morris. Join us as we look at why she is so fascinated by cloning and conservation in plants. This episode was produced in part by Chris, Gerald, Elise, Maggie, Mamie, A.J., Dallas, Channele, KC, Joe, Diane, Kim, Tanya, 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. |
| 0:04.4 | And now more than ever, we need conversations like this to reach as many ears as possible. |
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| 0:14.0 | slash In Defensive Plants. |
| 0:15.8 | In return for a tiny bit of support each month, you will get access to a completely separate podcast. |
| 0:21.5 | It explores 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 of fun. |
| 0:32.2 | We're learning so much, and we're trying to share that with you. So come on and join the Patreon over |
| 0:36.7 | 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. |
| 0:54.3 | How is everyone doing this week? I'm doing great because we are entering into the wild world of cloning. |
| 1:00.5 | I'm not talking about sheep or megafauna from the place to see, and I'm talking about plants. |
| 1:05.5 | Plants are these wonderfully clonal organisms, and we have so much to learn about that process and its impact on |
| 1:11.8 | things like plant conservation. It's not as simple as going out and counting stems. You have to know |
| 1:17.2 | something about clonality for so many different plant species, and who better to talk about |
| 1:21.5 | this than my guest today, Dr. Ashley Morris. Her whole lab is dedicated to understanding |
| 1:26.6 | things like genetic diversity between |
| 1:28.5 | clonal populations, the implications for longevity among clonal plants, and how that affects our |
| 1:34.7 | approach to plant conservation. There's a lot of really important ideas in here, no matter what |
| 1:39.6 | way you're looking at plant conservation or even native plant gardening. So I don't want to keep you |
| 1:43.8 | from it any longer. |
| 1:44.6 | Let's just jump right into it. |
| 1:45.6 | Without further ado, here's my conversation with Dr. Ashley Morris. |
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