tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post3690773531427055337..comments2024-03-18T11:05:03.118-06:00Comments on In the Company of Plants and Rocks: What would you do if you were a tree?Hollishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-34128807979451486102013-12-18T10:33:36.538-07:002013-12-18T10:33:36.538-07:00I'm looking forward to spring too, but also lo...I'm looking forward to spring too, but also looking forward to snow drops and winter aconites along the way :)Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06363592883349241096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-91423008924656080812013-12-18T09:00:38.946-07:002013-12-18T09:00:38.946-07:00sounds right to me ... but I'm really fuzzy on...sounds right to me ... but I'm really fuzzy on a lot of things botanical, especially anatomy and physiology. It's neat to reconsider them now that I have more time to appreciate (not in pursuit of a degree). I do know that leaves can "grow" via water uptake by already-formed cells. I think about it each spring ... and I'm really looking forward to it at the moment! (cold and windy with snow on the way)Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-68067566587230326612013-12-16T06:54:14.190-07:002013-12-16T06:54:14.190-07:00Indeterminate growth is really interesting, althou...Indeterminate growth is really interesting, although I find it a bit confusing! If I remember rightly, then the shoot tip of a plant always has the ability to make new cells - indeterminate growth - which is the same as our skin. So while a plant can make new leaves, each leaf has a determinate growth. New cells will divide until the right shape is achieved, according to the genes, and then the plant will fill all the vacuoles with water - which is why leaves and flowers seem to appear so quickly in spring! (Please correct me if I'm wrong!)Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06363592883349241096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-3688561985149622632013-12-15T16:23:18.448-07:002013-12-15T16:23:18.448-07:00Many thanks, Tim, for the comment, for reading ......Many thanks, Tim, for the comment, for reading ... and for sharing your tree-nature :-) Very interesting point about body parts -- perhaps related to "indeterminate growth" of plants? (another vague memory from botany class worth reinvestigating)Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-9120499283769385002013-12-15T13:11:50.704-07:002013-12-15T13:11:50.704-07:00I think I'd be a deciduous broad leaf, probabl...I think I'd be a deciduous broad leaf, probably an English Oak - as I do quite like the changing seasons.<br />I really enjoyed reading this post, Hollis. Such excellent examples. I always find it amazing how plants can grow and then discard their body parts. Apart from the rare example, animals are stuck with their body parts from day one and can't regrow any parts are are lost for whatever reason.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06363592883349241096noreply@blogger.com