WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: How Can a Plant Outsource Photosynthesis?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hi

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren vogelbam here with an episode from the

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<v Speaker 1>Brainstuff Archives. There's a concept in business that often the

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<v Speaker 1>best way to get more done isn't to work more

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<v Speaker 1>or harder, but to delegate tasks. Researchers have found a

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<v Speaker 1>plant that operates on the same principle. It actually outsources

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<v Speaker 1>photosynthesis to a fungus. Hey brain Stuff Lauren bogebom Here.

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<v Speaker 1>If you visit Yakoshima, Japan, you'll have the chance to

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<v Speaker 1>encounter the subtropical islands most popular attraction and ancient forest

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<v Speaker 1>of craggy cedar trees with massive trunks that reach more

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<v Speaker 1>than sixteen feet that's five meters in diameter. But don't

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<v Speaker 1>spend all your time looking up into the leafy canopy.

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<v Speaker 1>There's likely to be a plant at your feet that's

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<v Speaker 1>just as interesting. Thanks to one observant scientist, we now

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<v Speaker 1>know the area is also home to one of the

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<v Speaker 1>world's smallest and most unique parasitic plant pants. Back in tift,

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<v Speaker 1>sweet Sugu Kenji, then a project associate at the Kobe

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<v Speaker 1>University Graduate School of Science, canvassed the island for plant

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<v Speaker 1>specimens with photographer Yamashita hiro Aki. In the process, Kenji

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<v Speaker 1>came across a diminutive and unfamiliar plant. Kenji suspected the plant,

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<v Speaker 1>just five centimeters that's two inches in height, with cabernet

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<v Speaker 1>colored stems and buds, was a mico heterotrophic plant, so

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<v Speaker 1>he collected it for further examination. These parasitic plants get

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<v Speaker 1>their name from the unusual way they obtain nutrients. They

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<v Speaker 1>basically outsourced photosynthesis to a fungus. Most plants rely on photosynthesis,

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<v Speaker 1>a process by which they transform energy from the sun

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<v Speaker 1>into chemical energy that serves as a nutrient source. The

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<v Speaker 1>parasitic plant collected by Kenji doesn't need photosynthesis to survive.

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<v Speaker 1>It evolved in such a way that it obtains all

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<v Speaker 1>its water, minerals, and carbohydrates from fungi. In this case,

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<v Speaker 1>the plant's root system takes what it needs from fungi

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<v Speaker 1>on ancient tree roots, even if the roots are all

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<v Speaker 1>that remain in now deforested areas. It's a symbiotic relationship.

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<v Speaker 1>Another example of this behavior is the parasitic plant Raphileisia arnaldi,

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<v Speaker 1>colloquially called a corpse flower because its smell has been

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<v Speaker 1>compared to rotting flesh, it steals water and nutrients from

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<v Speaker 1>the roots of nearby vines, eventually creating a massive blossom.

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<v Speaker 1>The ability of plants like this newly identified one in

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<v Speaker 1>Japan has been one of the most intriguing and secretive

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<v Speaker 1>processes in botany's history. The only time these newly discovered

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<v Speaker 1>plants appear above ground is when they briefly flower or fruit,

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<v Speaker 1>making it exceedingly difficult to find or study them. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode is based on the article lazy cheating plant lives

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<v Speaker 1>underground outsources photosynthesis to fungus on how stuff works dot Com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Laurel Dove. Brain Stuff is production of I

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com

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<v Speaker 1>and is produced by Tyler Clay. Four more podcasts my

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