1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,400 Speaker 1: Okay there. I'm Mungish particular, co host of Part Time Genius, 2 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:11,080 Speaker 1: one of the founders of Mental Flaws, and this is 3 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: Humans Growing Stuff, a collaboration from my Heart Radio and 4 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: your friends at Miracle Grow. Our goal is to make 5 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 1: this the most human show about plants that you'll ever 6 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: listen to, and along the way, we'll share inspiring stories, 7 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: tips and tricks to nurture your plant addiction, and just 8 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,160 Speaker 1: enough science to make you sound like an expert. Now 9 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: we are on summer break right now, but because Molly 10 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: and I cannot stop talking about plants, we are bringing 11 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:39,840 Speaker 1: you some mini episodes to brighten up your feed and 12 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: grow your plant curiosity. Throughout the summer, we'll be dropping 13 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,879 Speaker 1: incredible stories from growers, advice from experts, and we'll have 14 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: some fun conversations around fascinating plant facts. For this bonus episode, 15 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 1: we are sharing our favorite facts about incredibly community minded 16 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: stag horn ferns. So I just want to begin by 17 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: letting you know that I am not into taxidermy, but 18 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:16,479 Speaker 1: I do love fake taxidermy. I find paper mache rainbow 19 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: zebra heads extremely charming. For a while, I was obsessed 20 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 1: with Dr Seuss fake taxidermy where he sculpted then mounted 21 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:27,120 Speaker 1: on these wooden boards, all these imaginary animals, like the 22 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:31,679 Speaker 1: delightful sea going dilemma fish or the google eyed Tasmanian 23 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 1: wall gast. You should look them up because they are 24 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: super delightful. I even had a short lived soft spot 25 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:40,480 Speaker 1: for the Billy bass singing fish, and it turns out 26 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,479 Speaker 1: I'm not the only one. Apparently, Queen Elizabeth was so 27 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: tickled by this novelty singing fish that she bought six 28 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: of them and mounted one above her grand piano. That 29 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: is true. But the reason I'm telling you all of 30 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: this is because when I learned about the stag horn fern, 31 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: I took an immediate liking to it. It is a 32 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: plant with big, antler like fronds, and that makes it 33 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: look great mounted on your wall like a trophy. In fact, 34 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:11,080 Speaker 1: it's become a pretty popular house plant recently. And just 35 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: like the resurrection fern, the stag horn is an epiphyte, 36 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:18,079 Speaker 1: so it grows on trees, but it's not a parasite. Instead, 37 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 1: it absorbs any water that drops off of the tree, 38 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: while its roots secured on the branches as it climbs. Now, 39 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: our friend Michael Perry, a k mr Plant geek, calls 40 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: the stag horn fern one of the funkiest of the ferns, 41 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:35,239 Speaker 1: and scientists are still learning a ton about them. But 42 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: here's some of my favorite facts about this regal and 43 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:49,800 Speaker 1: also very social stag horn fern. One, it has some 44 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: pretty glorious fronds. Now, ferns have some of the best 45 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: names in the business, partially because they look like what 46 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:00,040 Speaker 1: they're named after. Their Bird's Nest fern looks like a 47 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: bird's nest, the ostrich fern fans out like ostrich feathers. 48 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:07,359 Speaker 1: The interrupting fern has missing sections and some of its fronds. 49 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 1: The kangaroo paw fern has you guessed it leaves that 50 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: look like kangaroo pause. And the stag horn fern gets 51 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: its name from its long, glorious, antler like fronds. And 52 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,360 Speaker 1: The Sydney Morning Herald has called these ornamental fronts the 53 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:25,640 Speaker 1: drop earrings and handlebar mustache of the plant world, meaning 54 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:29,640 Speaker 1: they definitely draw attention. And even back in the nine seventies, 55 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:32,120 Speaker 1: The New York Times was raving about the plant in 56 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: a column from F. Gordon Foster, author of the popular 57 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: Ferns to Know and Grow Foster praised the unusually beautiful 58 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: fern for its moose like antlers, and he advocated mounting 59 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: one on a plaque and hanging it high in your 60 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 1: bathroom where it could absorb moisture too. Do not remove 61 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 1: the brown part. In addition to those antler like fronds, 62 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:01,360 Speaker 1: the fern also has shorter eyed, flat leaves near the 63 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: base of the plant, and these are known as shield fronds. 64 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,320 Speaker 1: These are super important because they absorbed the nutrients and 65 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 1: water for the plant. And while these shield fronds start 66 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: out all green and healthy looking, they eventually turned brown 67 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: and dry out. But do not be fooled. While the 68 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:21,280 Speaker 1: shield fronds might look unnecessary, they're still alive and working hard. 69 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,479 Speaker 1: They're important for anchoring the plant in place and for 70 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: protecting that root ball a k a. The nutrient center 71 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:34,600 Speaker 1: of your plant. Three They've been around since the dinosaurs. 72 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:37,919 Speaker 1: According to the San Diego Zoo, part of the reason 73 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:40,920 Speaker 1: that stag horns look so different from other ferns with 74 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: bigger boulder fronds that are less lacy is that they 75 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 1: have a lineage dating back to the days of the dinosaurs. 76 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:51,279 Speaker 1: While the plants are native to tropical regions of Africa, 77 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 1: southeast Asia and Australia. Many botanists believe that the stag 78 00:04:55,360 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: horns are actually the missing link between ancient and modern ferns. 79 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:07,719 Speaker 1: Four spores, not seeds. Unlike other plants, stag horn ferns 80 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:11,279 Speaker 1: don't reproduce via flowers of seeds. They have these teeny 81 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: tiny spores that grow on the underside of those beautiful 82 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: antler like fronds. To grow more stag horns, look for 83 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 1: the green bumps hidden on the underside of those antler 84 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: like fronds. When they turn brown, you can scrape them 85 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,039 Speaker 1: off with a knife and harvest them. Another trick for 86 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: collecting the spores is to cut off a frond and 87 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: place it in a paper bag and wait for the 88 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:34,720 Speaker 1: spores to dry out and fall off the fronds. Then 89 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:37,600 Speaker 1: you can use those to grow baby ferns, or as 90 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: they're actually called by botanists, pops. Five stag horns love community. Now. 91 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,479 Speaker 1: One of the most incredible things about stag horns is 92 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,680 Speaker 1: that researchers have discovered that the plants take on distinct 93 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: rolls to help each other out, and this usually happens 94 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 1: when they're growing in clusters and nature so sently, The 95 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: New York Times published an article sharing how ferns near 96 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:06,360 Speaker 1: the top of the trees have grown these longer, waxier, 97 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 1: antler fronds, and those near the bottom take on a 98 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:14,039 Speaker 1: sponge eer quality with more prominent shield fronds, and the 99 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 1: plants leaves at the top make it easier to direct 100 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:19,600 Speaker 1: water to the other plants below them, and those near 101 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 1: the bottom have adapted to absorb more water, so they're 102 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:26,279 Speaker 1: all coordinating, and researchers determined it was as if the 103 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 1: ferns operate like bees in a hive, giving different roles 104 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 1: to each other to best serve the larger community of 105 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 1: plants so that they can grow and thrive together. I 106 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: love that. And finally, six, they eat bananas. According to 107 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,839 Speaker 1: the Sydney Morning Herald, one well known secret in the 108 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:50,080 Speaker 1: world of growing prize stag horns is to feed your 109 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 1: fern bananas. As one cultivator told the paper, he used 110 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,080 Speaker 1: to watch his grandmother peeled the fruit like she was 111 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: feeding her pet chimpanzee. Now in the wild, staghorn fern 112 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:03,560 Speaker 1: trapped falling vegetal and plant matter in their nest like fraunds, 113 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 1: and it decomposes and acts like a fertilizer there. But 114 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: according to the article. The preferred method of most growers 115 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: is to shed the fruit and just tuck a banana 116 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 1: skin into the basil frounds, where you can fertilize the plant. 117 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 1: Either way, the idea of a plant feasting on another 118 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 1: plant skives some people out. As one subject told the 119 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 1: Morning Herald reporter, even as a child, I wondered about 120 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: the moral implications of a plant eating another plant, As 121 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 1: he elaborated, can plants be cannibals? I mean to me, 122 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: that only makes me love the staghorn fernt even more. 123 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:45,680 Speaker 1: That's it for today's bonus episode, and don't forget, no 124 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:48,160 Speaker 1: matter what season it is or where you're at in 125 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,760 Speaker 1: your gardening journey, there's some incredible resources waiting for you 126 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: on the Miracle Grow website. Humans Growing Stuff is a 127 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 1: collaboration from I Heart Radio and your friends at Miracle Grow. 128 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 1: I do hope you've loved these bonus episodes. Are show 129 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:04,280 Speaker 1: was written and produced by Molly Sosha and me Mongay. Particular, 130 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: the episode was edited and engineered by our pal Matt Stillo, 131 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 1: who saved us a ton this summer. Thank you all 132 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:12,480 Speaker 1: so much for listening.