WEBVTT - Summer Bonus Episode: The Plant that Never Dies

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<v Speaker 1>Hey there, I'm Ngati, the co host of Part Time Genius,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the founders of Mental Flaws, and this is

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<v Speaker 1>Humans Growing Stuff, a collaboration from My Heart Radio and

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<v Speaker 1>your friends at Miracle Grow. Our goal is to make

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<v Speaker 1>this the most human show about plants you'll ever listen to,

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<v Speaker 1>and along the way, we'll share inspiring stories, tips and

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<v Speaker 1>tricks to nurture your plant addiction, and just enough science

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<v Speaker 1>to make you sound like an expert. We are on

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<v Speaker 1>summer break right now, but because Molly and I cannot

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<v Speaker 1>stop our plant addiction, we're going to bring you some

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<v Speaker 1>mini episodes to brighten up your feed and grow your

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<v Speaker 1>plant curiosity. Throughout the summer. We're dropping incredible stories from growers,

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<v Speaker 1>advice from experts, and we'll have some fun conversations around

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<v Speaker 1>fascinating plant facts. In this bonus episode, we're talking about

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<v Speaker 1>one of our favorite plants, known by its common name

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<v Speaker 1>Polly Podium Polypodiodes, or as everyone else calls it, the

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<v Speaker 1>Resurrection Firm. Listeners, if you haven't figured it out by now,

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<v Speaker 1>I love learning new things, and one of the things

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<v Speaker 1>I am kind of obsessed with is things that seem

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<v Speaker 1>totally dead but aren't so In biology, there's a whole

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<v Speaker 1>category called the Lazarus taxon, and it's filled with plants

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<v Speaker 1>and animals that everyone decided had gone extinct until some

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<v Speaker 1>scientists spots them in the wild and they realize it's

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<v Speaker 1>actually still existing in the world. And then there's something

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<v Speaker 1>called the Elvis taxon, where scientists think they've spotted an

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<v Speaker 1>extinct plant again, but this time it is just look alike.

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<v Speaker 1>So this is kind of like if you see a

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<v Speaker 1>guy who looks like Elvis at the mall and you

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<v Speaker 1>start pointing and yelling to everyone around you that Elvis

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<v Speaker 1>is still alive, but it's really just an Elvis impersonator.

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<v Speaker 1>But my favorite favorite of these almost morbid things are

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<v Speaker 1>plants and animals that seem to be dead but then reawaken.

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<v Speaker 1>So Charles Darwin was once astonished by a beetle that

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<v Speaker 1>played possum for twenty three full minutes. There are frogs

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<v Speaker 1>like the zombie wood frog that literally stop its heart

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<v Speaker 1>and freeze to survive the icy Canadian winters and then

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<v Speaker 1>suddenly wake up when the weather's changes and they just

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<v Speaker 1>hop off. But the thing I'm currently most obsessed with

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<v Speaker 1>is this Resurrection firm. It is a gorgeous, gorgeous firm

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<v Speaker 1>that preserves itself during times of drought by curling up

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<v Speaker 1>those fronds to the point where it appears completely dead.

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<v Speaker 1>And you guessed it. Despite its gray and withery appearance,

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<v Speaker 1>it's not actually dead. So here are six facts I

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<v Speaker 1>just learned about the resurrection from that I had to

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<v Speaker 1>share with you. One, according to the National Wildlife Federation,

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<v Speaker 1>this plant can lose an astonishing nine of its water content.

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<v Speaker 1>But what's stunning is that the moment it's watered again,

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<v Speaker 1>it resurrects itself and turns green and leafy once more.

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<v Speaker 1>By contrast, most plants cells collapse and die when they've

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<v Speaker 1>lost just ten of their water, all of which means

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<v Speaker 1>the resurrection fern is basically the perfect house plant if

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<v Speaker 1>you're terrible with plants. Two, it's got some fun nicknames.

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<v Speaker 1>In addition to being called the resurrection fern, it's also

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes referred to as the miracle fern and the little

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<v Speaker 1>gray polypod. Three. You can find these ferns in some

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<v Speaker 1>surprising places here in the u s. They're mostly found

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<v Speaker 1>climbing old oak trees in the American South, kind of

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<v Speaker 1>in the low country, and although they anchor their slender

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<v Speaker 1>stems on the bark. They are not parasites. The ferns

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<v Speaker 1>climbed the trees to escape the competition for resources from

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<v Speaker 1>other groundcover, but once they're up above they feed off

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<v Speaker 1>moisture in the air and run off water that drips

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<v Speaker 1>off leaves and branches. For there is a super cute

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<v Speaker 1>story of how the plants traveled to outer space. In

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<v Speaker 1>South Carolina middle school got fascinated with the plant, and

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<v Speaker 1>the students suggested to NASA that it might be worth

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<v Speaker 1>taking the plants to space to see if they could

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<v Speaker 1>perform their trick in zero gravity. So astronauts did Resurrection

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<v Speaker 1>ferns boarded the space Shuttle Discovery, and just as you

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<v Speaker 1>might expect, they sprung back to life in space. Two. Five.

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<v Speaker 1>The plant actually has medicinal qualities too. Native Americans used

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<v Speaker 1>to brew the root into a t to cure sore throats,

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<v Speaker 1>and they put the root into poultices to treat hives

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<v Speaker 1>and inflammation as well. Six. If you're wondering how long

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<v Speaker 1>a miracle fern can play dead, scientists estimate that the

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<v Speaker 1>planet can play possum for up to a hundred years,

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<v Speaker 1>a hundred years before they can drink a little water

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<v Speaker 1>and suddenly they're showing off those luxuriant greens again. That's

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<v Speaker 1>it for today's bonus episode, but check back here again

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<v Speaker 1>soon for more bonus episodes this summer. And don't forget

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<v Speaker 1>no matter what season it is or where you're at

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<v Speaker 1>in your gardening journey, there's some incredible resources waiting for

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<v Speaker 1>you on the Miracle Grow website. Humans Growing Stuff is

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<v Speaker 1>a collaboration from My Heart Radio and your friends at

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<v Speaker 1>Miracle Grow. Our show was written and produced by Molly

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<v Speaker 1>Sosha and me Mongy Shit Together. This episode was edited

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<v Speaker 1>and engineered by our pal Matt still O