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Speculative biology is simultaneously a science and form of art in which one speculates on the possibilities of life and evolution. What could the world look like if dinosaurs had never gone extinct? What could alien lifeforms look like? What kinds of plants and animals might exist in the far future? These questions and more are tackled by speculative biologists, and the Speculative Evolution welcomes all relevant ideas, inquiries, and world-building projects alike. With a member base comprising users from across the world, our community is the largest and longest-running place of gathering for speculative biologists on the web.

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Learn Me Plants
Topic Started: Dec 16 2010, 05:39 PM (1,240 Views)
Ànraich
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L'évolution Spéculative est moi

Plants are real simple organisms, basically just solar-powered fractals. They extract carbon from the air (producing oxygen as a byproduct), and use water and sunlight to create sugars to feed on. Their lifestyle is more or less a feedback loop; make starch so you can survive to make more starch. They have a system of roots to extract groundwater, which has "nutrients" dissolved in it. In some cases they have to produce adaptations to gain nutrients their native soil might not have, such as trapping and digesting insects to gain nitrogen.

They use some kind of appendage, such as a leaf or needle, to increase the surface area over which they can gain sunlight. Leaves do not grow randomly, they grow in patterns unique to each plant that form over many years as the plant "learns" how the sun moves over it. They display quite a few strategies for competing with each other. Some, like trees, grow slowly to large sizes and have tremendous lifespans. Others, like grass, are incredibly resilient and capable of going dormant for long periods of time (the catch is that they don't grow very large and have few defenses against non-plant organisms). And some, like vines, grow on other plants and "strangle" them while also using them to gain height for more light exposure. With plants its all about light exposure, though many plants also grow their roots inside the root systems of other nearby plants in an attempt to cut them off from their shared water supply.

And plants don't have to be limited to just one spot. It's possible that in arid environments some plants may develop into something more like an animal; uprooting itself and migrating to wetter regions (which also opens up an interesting niche for animals; predatory herbivores).

I could go on like this all day, but I'm really just typing random knowledge I have in my head. It's basic, so if you need more just ask. I've been doing a lot of research on plants lately myself, for my own project.
We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar.

"The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming

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BaliTiger23
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@Holbenilord - I have ah, outstanding fees at my local library. Somewhere in the triple digits. I'm horrible at remembering to return books ._.

@Parasky - Everything you just said I learned from watching David Attenborough's The Private Life of Plants. I never knew how very similar plant life was to animals. And fungi and lichen and the like are just as fascinating! Seeing plants sped up like they do on the documentary was pretty much amazing. So eerie yet so awesome. I learn better from visual learning, so I'm going to see if I can find some more documentaries on plants (though no one beats Attenborough; I can listen to that mans voice for hours on end). Thanks for trying to help out with sharing knowledge <3
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lamna
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No other ones really spring to mind, but I'm sure there are some.
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Are nipples or genitals necessary, lamna?
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Ànraich
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L'évolution Spéculative est moi

BaliTiger23
Dec 20 2010, 05:58 AM
@Holbenilord - I have ah, outstanding fees at my local library. Somewhere in the triple digits. I'm horrible at remembering to return books ._.

@Parasky - Everything you just said I learned from watching David Attenborough's The Private Life of Plants. I never knew how very similar plant life was to animals. And fungi and lichen and the like are just as fascinating! Seeing plants sped up like they do on the documentary was pretty much amazing. So eerie yet so awesome. I learn better from visual learning, so I'm going to see if I can find some more documentaries on plants (though no one beats Attenborough; I can listen to that mans voice for hours on end). Thanks for trying to help out with sharing knowledge <3
Fungi and lichens are not plants. They're fungi.
We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar.

"The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming

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Holben
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Oh, and learn about gametophytic and sporophytic generations, auxins etc., plant growth and differentiation, and the differneces between groups! :P
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
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lamna
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Yeah, but they are still covered in the Private Life of Plants. They are both sessile non-animals that can only be observed moving by speeding up the action.
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Holben
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Maybe they should call in 'The Private Life of Plants, Fungi and their Ilk'.
Not so specific i guess.

I watched it BTW, three episodes anyway. Good stuff.
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
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BaliTiger23
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Haha, I should have specified, but I was only including fungi in the statement, not the classification of plants. I know the difference lol.

I've got one more episode to watch and then I'll have a basic grasp on my plant and fungi anatomy and behavior. After that, I'll be able to start doing more competent research for my own project.

Seriously though, plants are amazing. If they moved as fast as us rather than on their own time as they do, I'd be far more terrified of them than any other living animal. Just sayin'. Seeing them sped up is just... freaking awesome. I foresee me having a new favorite thing to research. I am obsessed with researching stuff haha.
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colddigger
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Yeah, plants are pretty nice.
Oh Fine.

Oh hi you! Why don't you go check out the finery that is SGP??

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Holben
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I still prefer animals. :P

More graphic killing.

Though the Christmas Tree of Australia is pretty deadly.
Edited by Holben, Dec 21 2010, 08:48 AM.
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
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BaliTiger23
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Plenty of plants kill other plants and animals. But I know what you mean.
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Kamidio
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Have you done research on the Taiga? It may be helpful.
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colddigger
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Joke's over! Love, Parasky
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:|

More Killing. Right.
Oh Fine.

Oh hi you! Why don't you go check out the finery that is SGP??

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Holben
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Yeah more graphic killing.

I'll go add the word 'graphic'. DAMN YOU SPECIFITY

The taiga is a really big forest in Asia, so what.

EDIT: Oh, and by proportion there is more killing. :happy:
Edited by Holben, Dec 21 2010, 08:49 AM.
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
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BaliTiger23
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Say what? The taiga is a coniferous forest around the entire northern hemisphere. It's the largest terrestrial biome on this planet. Here in Canada we call it the boreal forest though.

And yes, I will be looking at it.
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