Facts About Plants 🌺 - Secret Nature | Plant Documentary | Natural History Channel

plants are in a constant battle for survival there needs to breed and feed has driven their evolution many couldn't survive without animals they're hired as messengers carriers of pollen or provide meat to satisfy our hunger for flesh plants lives are more erotic and violent than you might think this is flower [Music] when it comes to surviving the plants exhibit all the traits of an animal they hunt for food display for mates and bribe animals for their services but that's not all plants can tell the time applause bugs open and close in a rhythm you could set your clock to plan smooth the Arctic Rose rotates its head to follow the Sun 24 hours a day plants can even count venus flytraps close their snares only when their triggers are touched twice [Music] like all life+ are driven by the needs to feed and breed sex is perhaps the most important force in nature while for plants sex may have originated in water they soon harnessed wind power to spread their pollen but things really took off when plants learned to exploit animals these bugs and beetles were all fooled into carrying their spores flower power came about through the need to attract these animal servants and to pay for their services in pollen nectar or wax and it's not just insects that have been coerced mammals like opossums mice bats and birds have all been won over my plants it's a relationship that created the hummingbirds bill the bumblebees buzz and the honey possums tub the foxgloves Trump the trigger plants target and the honeysuckle sweet scent so strong is the link between plants and animals that Sun could no longer survive alone but the partnership has been exploited the African water lily must kill its pollinators if it's to reproduce the needs to feed is an imperative of all life and being rooted to the spot has turned some plants into killers sundews exploit an insects desire for sugar with sticky tentacles that imitate nectar and pitcher plants are brightly colored to imitate flowers but the king of the killers the Venus flytrap is so animal-like that it's even evolved a nervous system flights were the first to colonize the lab they live longer they grow larger and they thrive where few animals could survive we'd be lost without them both animals gain their energy from plants whether directly or through the food chain even carnivores are ultimately feeding on plants perhaps being eaten is even in the plants interest by exploiting man in its bid for space is this the most successful plant the world has ever known [Music] it will be hard to visualize a world without grass they may lack gaudy displays but nonetheless their flowering plants but though they seem primitive in fact they're complex the male flowers shake in the wind sending pollen into the air in the hope that some will land on the branching feathers of female flowers and so complete pollination it's a simple yet very successful design for grasses and many trees sex is all about huge pollen clouds on the wind [Music] in pine forests pollen dusts the tiny red female flowers [Music] pollination complete the cones will take two years to grow ripen and release their seeds and another hundred years to reach maturity and grade themselves but while blanket bombing with clouds of pollen is effective it's also very wasteful for every pollen grain that finds a female flower millions are lost plants can't tell the wind which way to blow their pollen what plants really need is a way to deliver pollen straight to the female flower and with no waste [Music] throughout North America lives an unusual plant whose flowers bloom underwater there's no wind there so it's evolved in ingenious means of delivering pollen this is vallisneria or the ribbon we'd vallisneria lives as both male and female plants this is the female a long coiled stalk at the end of which can be found a tiny female flower the flower rests in a dimple suspended by the surface tension of the water the male plant lives below the water at its base is a small flask containing two thousand male flowers oxygen bubbles the byproducts of the plants photosynthesis collecting the flask and cause it to open as the flower ripens tiny flowers are released and float to the water surface in search of females it's a hazardous journey pollen is extremely nutritious like caviar to fish [Music] in an attempt to avoid it being eaten most pollen is released it's dead of night but despite there being safety in numbers only a handful of pollen grains will reach the surface [Music] [Applause] [Music] those that dude split open in response to the drying air and carry pollen high and dry on a raft of petals [Music] meanwhile the female waits for her approaching mate she's covered with thousands of minut water repellent hairs that bend the water surface into a slippery downward slope as the male's drift by some will reach the slope and slide into the female's embrace and pollination is complete once ripe the seeds will drift away on the current Valis Nereus flowers work by manipulating the environment for their own benefit and that's what life's about for all flowers flowers are designed for one thing only sex most flowers are bisexual having both male and female sex organs the female part is the pollen receiving stigma which leads down to the ovaries where the seeds will develop the male parts are the anthers that produce pollen the equivalent of sperm pollen is a masterpiece of design as unique as a human fingerprint their chemical and physical properties can only be recognized by their own kind so our plant will only allow its seeds to be fertilized by pollen from its own species the stigma accepts pollen like a lock accepts a key it may be complex but it prevents flowers from being pollinated by the wrong species having both male and female organs in each flower it couldn't be easier for plants to fertilize themselves but evolution requires pollination from a different individual so how on earth can you ensure cross pollination when you're rooted to the spot one answer is by using a third party coercing an animal into carrying your pollen to another plant this is where the diversity and speciality of floral design comes in there are millions of plants using valuable energy to display flowers but it shows their readiness for pollination it pays for them to advertise dressing themselves in extravagant and bright colors to attract their go-betweens attention so surrounding the flower sex organs are eye-catching shapes designs and patterns this is what we think of as a flower but there's much more to these displays than meets our eyes intricate markings give insects clear direction as towards the pollen or nectar some are only visible under ultraviolet light way beyond the human range of vision [Music] they're like road signs marking the way to the flowers parties for flowers must pay for the services of their pollinators their award is pollen nectar wax or scent the foods of the gods [Music] plants are in a constant competition to attract pollinators it's this that's resulted in the great diversity of flowers we see today many flowers specialize in attracting only certain types of pollinators Knights scented honeysuckles attract moths this is buzz pollination the release of pollen in response to the ultrasonic vibrations of a bumble bees wings [Music] Fox clubs lure insects to their balloons in a strict order releasing pollen and nectar in succession from base to peak to ensure that no flowers are left out [Music] figwort as a special flower are designed for wasps though it's not special enough to prevent ants from robbing it [Music] the trigger plants another brilliant design it only fires it's spring-loaded outlets when insects large enough to carry the pollen alight too small and the trigger fails to be sprung after all there's no point in wasting pollen this North American desert plant relies on ants for pollination it flowers at ground level and it stems into twine to provide the ants with a safe walkway from flower to flower [Music] the blooms themselves are mine eat they don't need to be big as they're not signaling an invitation to insects over long distances as the ants drinks nectar the stamen anoints its head with pollen grains to be carried to the next one [Music] flowers use a lot of energy paying their pollinators for their services and pollinators must spend their own energy to large bumblebees use their long tongues to delve for comfrey nectar dusting their head with pollen and completing the pollination process but these holes in the side of the flower reveal where smaller bees their tongues too short to delve the flower head have chewed through the petals to plunder the contents it's a trick soon picked up by others so some plants have evolved foolproof and unique designs it may seem surprising but the bush fires that regularly sweep through Western Australia are essential for one flowers reproduction [Music] as soon as the fires have passed before other plants have had the time to grow a tiny orchid called the hammer orchid emerges on a very very long stalk by orchid standards it's no special beauty but its distinctive design is perfect for sex not with another plant but with a wasp a female fine it'd wasps fights her way up through the charge sandy soil living underground she's lost her wings and looks more like an ants than a wasp [Music] she surfaces just once in her life to mate before returning Underground's to hunt beetle grubs in which to lay her eggs she climbs a charred branch releases an irresistible perfume [Applause] and weights to class per partner with open jaws [Music] the winged male emerged a few weeks earlier than the female and has been waiting in anticipation attracted by her scent he now picks her up and begins to mate with her on the wing [Music] he then lands on a flower to suck up nectar which he passes through his body for her to take in along with his sperm [Music] it's the only taste of nectar she'll ever have [Music] honey manova he'll return her to the ground where she'll disappear forever so how does this wasp enter into an affair with the hammer orchid it's no coincidence that the female wasps are still underground when the orchid emerges to flower nor is it coincidence that the orchid mimics the female wasps size shape scent and even movement just when there are lots of sex-starved males around there's a lot more to this orchid than meets the eye it's rigid arm hinge stem and glistening pollen sacs are perfectly designed for a bizarre coupling between wasp and flower [Music] deceived into thinking this is a female wasp the male lands on the flower grabs it tight and tries to fly off but his frantic efforts only catapult him into the plants sticky anthers which glue their pollen sacs to his back [Music] tired and frustrated he eventually tears himself free you'd think he'd learned from his mistake but for the orchids deception to work the wasp must now deliver the pollen to another bloom and attempts to mate again with pollen crushed into its stigma the hammer' orchid is now pollinated the dummy wasp withers and the orchids resources are redirected to ripening its seed pods many plants deceive their visitors with a false offer of sexual satisfaction this one's so convincing that male wasps even release their sperm into the bloom though it will do them no good at all [Music] almost any animal capable of conveying pollen from flower to flower has been exploited by flowers pygmy possums will eat almost anything including pollen in so doing they've become part of a very select band of pollinating mammals [Music] but evolution can go two ways the Australian honey possum the trapeze artist of the marsupial world has adapted to feeding on flowers and nothing else it's amazing tongue is specifically designed for laughing up nectar grasping fingers and a gripping tale allow it to live in trees which have evolved to provide it with copious quantities of this sugary meal [Music] but surely the best way to transport pollen is on the wing [Music] many plants have coax the bats into being their go-betweens others rely on birds to fill the role as birds can fly vast distances these flowers have evolved to be highly visible growing large and producing huge quantities of nectar the flowers of the Kangaroos pour to even provide a stem for the honeyeater to perch on powdering its head with Collin as it feeds [Music] strelitzia also provides a purge cleverly designed to be totally insecure it's like trying to balance on a slippery pole inevitably the bird will step in the pollen and carry it to the next room it visits South African Proteus even provide a home for their pollinators male Sun birds are intensely territorial guarding their looms with pride then why does some Proteus have downward-pointing flowers hidden near the ground the answer is that these protea have swapped birds for mice as their pollinators of choice [Music] in Central America nectar rich flowers have evolved for perhaps the most elegant of all pollinators hummingbirds their frantic flying requires a rich source of sugars which the flowers are able to provide in return for pollination today neither plant nor bird could survive without the other but which came first the energetic flight of the humus or the nectar fueling stations the flowers provide [Music] [Applause] plants and pollinators evolved together through a process known as coevolution one such example can be found in the jungles of South America here coevolution has resulted in an inseparable partnership for most orchids there can be only one species of pollinator one insect that knows the secret combination to unlock its sex life and this you gloss Envy obliges because in doing so it gets the stimulus it needs to complete its own sex life the bucket orchid Cory Anthes lives on the branches of trees in the early morning Sun the flowers petals open as two glands begin to drip clear fluid into the bowl at the base of the blue [Music] simultaneously it gives off a scent irresistible to male bees they come here to collect wax from the surface of the orchid they scrape it off with modified front legs and use it to make an aphrodisiac so vital is this wax that the bees will fly up to eight kilometres to collect it but the wax is slippery and inevitably some bees will fall into the bucket [Music] on the point of drowning it notices a small escape tunnel with a rather conveniently placed step it's in the orchids interest to help the bee escape [Music] for just on the verge of freedom the orchids tunnel closes in two hold the beam a vice-like grip struggle I see might the bee is held captive while the orchid glues pollen sacks to its back [Music] the glue sets in about ten seconds and the bee is set free having dried his wings he sets off in search of another flower to continue his wax collection the male part of the flower service the orchid now let's any captives go as soon as they enter the bucket and less happens they've already visited another flower the orchid must still gain Holland to be fertilized this time when the bee tries to escape another floral tool grabs the pollen sacs off his back [Music] it's an incredibly complicated way of achieving pollination but amazingly it works but Korean please and the you glossing be are taking an enormous risk were either be your orchid to disappear or even become scarce both would be doomed to extinction in South Africa you can find another flower that must also trap insects to achieve pollination at first glance this water lily seems harmless but there's something sinister going on [Music] [Applause] [Music] on the first day of flowers the bloom unfolds to reveal a pool of nectar it's an invitation to theme for this unsuspecting homophile but this is a trick what looks like an easy food source is a pool of poison but why kill your pollinator because it's likely that the drowning hoverfly will already have visited another flowering lily [Music] by trapping flies in the fluid surrounding the female part of the plant and sealing it secure the African water lily avoids contact with its own pollen and ensures cross-pollination [Music] Pollan sinks from the fly's body to the female stigmas below and the female flower is hidden from view [Music] the female part of the flower is more deadly than the male on day two the flower unfolds again to reveal male antlers coated with pollen for flies the visiting safety plants and animals have evolved complex relationships consider this ginger it employs ants to guard its flowers from attack by grazers or plunder by the wrong visitors its pollinated by hummingbirds the ants are fading nectar and special glands evolved for their use alone ginger thrives by employing answers bodyguards and they're paid well for their service it's a plant protection racket in Europe the teasel has gone down another route to thwart hungry grazers it's constructed a series of moats around its stem and branches to drown anything intent on attack the teasel turned the tables on the animals bromeliads live where both nutrients and water can be scarce their leaves are arranged like a funnel to collect rainwater as with the teasel this can also deter insects from grazing on their leaves [Music] drowning bodies may even provide nutrients for the plants whose waxy leaves evolved to prevent dehydration make visiting insects lose their footing bromeliads have taken the first step towards becoming carnivores pitcher plants have taken water traps to the extreme their leaves are rolled together to form a bell-shaped structure that fills with water and drowns prey but unlike bromeliads these pitfall traps are not accidental they entice insects in using the same lures and promises of food which flowers use to attract their pollinators in the swamps of the eastern United States can be found the sarracenia pitcher plant the lead of the pitcher known as the spoon is brightly colored and scented to attract insects from far away [Music] just like a flower the spoon is also covered with nectar glands to lure insects with the false promise of food but interspersed with these glands are millions of fine downward pointing hairs seen here in extreme close-up [Music] the hairs force insects to move down the spoon to where they encounter a thick waxy coat insects like this wasp soon lose their footing and fall into the water below [Music] the bodies don't passively decay just like a stomach the plant releases digestive enzymes and absorbs the released nutrients but unlike animals pitchers have no means of getting rid of waste from animals they've consumed the trap may contain the husks of several thousand insects incredibly a mosquito has evolved that exploits these traps living inside and feeding on the fruits of decay they even pupate here turning from wriggling larvae into floating pupae finally they emerge as adults and navigate the minefield of the pictures bell [Music] some even sneak a man of nectar before flying away [Music] a mosquito emerges from a bagi home an adult in search of a nectar meal [Music] little does it suspect it's in a minefield elephants [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] one plant promises nectar with glistening droplets of juice on bright petal like leaves [Music] these are the sundews there are over a hundred species worldwide and they're the kings of the sticky killers [Music] but these shiny globules are not nectar but glute its tentacles once trapped glands of the tips of the tentacles secrete enzymes to dissolve flesh and the plants absorb the nutrients from the animals bodies but it's a bit more complex than that when prey touches the glue a signal is sent to the leaf blade activating other tentacles which overwhelm the prey [Music] [Music] [Music] struggling only makes matters worse as victims come into contact with more and more glue [Music] [Music] a signal next stimulates the blade to grow on one side and engulf the insect as this takes several days it's best seen in time-lapse [Music] once digestion is complete the growth process is repeated along the other side of the leaf and the trap is set again since there is a limit to the total growth of any one leaf the process of bending can only be repeated three times [Music] so son use our economical only bending their leaves when a large prey is suitably secured [Music] nectar is such a strong attractant that one plant uses it as a lure for the most deadly of liaisons meat the meat-eating venus flytrap the first carnivorous plant ever known [Music] [Applause] [Music] imprisoned in a barred cage prey rarely escapes alive the key to the way the Venus flytrap works is the surface of its trap the bright red surface is covered in nectar secreting glands that attract insects in the same way that flowers might in the center on each side of the trap are free trigger hairs [Music] touch one hair nothing but touch two different hairs or one hair twice and for Travis fired this is a plant that can count [Music] prong like teeth interlock securing the prey behind prison bars [Music] [Applause] [Music] when prey touches a trigger it sends an electrical signal to the midrib of the trap this electrical signal is the closest plants have come to evolving a nervous impulse [Music] the signal causes a change in pressure in different parts of the trap and in just one thirtieth of a second it's closed [Music] the trap tightens and digestion begins our seeds and enzymes pour out from digestive glands and the nutrients are absorbed [Music] in response to an insect meal the plant puts armed a huge spurt of growth [Music] when digestion is completed the cells on the inside of the trap are enlarged and the trap is reopened in this way every time the trap feeds it grows bigger and it's sprung to fire over and over again [Music] [Music] perhaps this is the most surprising of all carnivorous plants the seed of the shepherd's purse secretes sweet scented toxins that attract and killed microscopic animals the toxins protected from attack and by absorbing the nutrients as the animals decay the seed is providing itself with its own localized source of fertilizer it's a seed displaying all the basic instincts of animal life self-defense feeding and breeding [Music] [Applause] [Music] if there's one thing that animals can and plants can't do its move but on the Arctic coast of Greenland there's a plant that bends even this room the summer here lasts just five weeks during which time the Sun never sets it's cold here so the tiny Arctic grows dryers has evolved space-age technology to warm itself up for sex its petals are shaped like a parabolic mirror to reflect the sun's rays towards its center as a result it's ten degrees warmer there than the surroundings the warmth the tracks insects debars can feed on nectar before carrying pollen to another room and completing their role in the bargain swapping heat and food for pollination [Music] but to stay warm throughout the 24 hours of daytime dryers must keep track of the Sun it's evolved a rotating stem the world's smallest solar tracking station and it never strays more than 2 degrees from the sun's position [Music] plants exhibit all the traits of aliens when it comes to their battle for survival like animals they're driven by the need for food and sex [Music] while Kapaa sex may have originated in water they soon harness the winds to carry their pollen from one to another with the evolution of insects plant under new more accurate means of conveying their sports but they have to pay for the carrier service with nectar wax and pollen and advertised for help with gaudy flowers ultraviolet markets and strong scents and it's not just insects mammals and birds have all been won over by planets so strong is the link between plants and animals that some simply couldn't survive alone it's resulted in some truly bizarre repairs but plants also need to feed and when nutrients are scarce they turned into killers lilies drown with poison sundews kill with glue and pitcher plants use pitfall traps the need to feed is so strong that some plants have become almost animal-like the Venus flytrap has even evolved and nursed [Music] plants are essential to all life from the simplest single cells to the mightiest of oak trees we'd be lost without plants capture the energy of the Sun and pass it on to animals and but that's this is in their interest consider a world without grasses by coercing us into spreading their seeds worldwide he sweets the most successful plant the world has ever known [Music]

Channel: Banijay Wild

Views: 173,871

Keywords: documentary, full documentary, documentary channel, docu, top documentaries, documentaire, documental, documentary film, free documentary, animals, nature and wildlife, nature, natura, naturaleza, secret nature, facts, biology, plants, venus flytrap, plant, soil, what plants talk about, pollination, bees, pollen, gardening, flowers, nectar, pollinate, seeds, evolution, environment, plant pollination, Facts About Plants

Id: 1RSCaNVnOjA

Length: 49min 15sec (2955 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 17 2018