The plant that pretends to be ill


	The plant that pretends to be ill

tabsey

6-21-2009 7:05 AM

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nature

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6-21-2009 10:51 PM

mugofcoffee

wow! what all we don't know about the nature?

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/479950bd-348d-4624-a097-80a0b0f94868/FA7C40A6-0B35-4495-B199-0C823E9FE39F/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8108000/8108940.stm" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8108000/8108940.stm" style="font-size: 11px;">news.bbc.co.uk</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8108000/8108940.stm"><div align="center"><img src="http://content8.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/news.bbc.co.uk/img/E0CAE1C0-C6B1-4905-8944-4CFE32C293E1" alt="A moth mined leaf and a variegated leaf of Caladium steudneriifolium" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8108000/8108940.stm"><DIV class="cap">A leaf damaged by mining moths (left) compared to one faking it (right).</DIV></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8108000/8108940.stm"><P class="first"><B>A plant that pretends to be ill has been found growing in the rainforests of Ecuador.</B></P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8108000/8108940.stm"><P>The plants feigns sickness to stop it being attacked by insect pests known as mining moths, which would otherwise eat its healthy leaves. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8108000/8108940.stm"><P>It is the first known example of a plant that mimics being ill, and could also explain a common pattern seen on plant leaves known as variegation. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8108000/8108940.stm"><P>Variegation is familiar to gardeners and affects many species of plant. Variegated plants have different coloured patterns on the leaf surface, produced by a variety of causes. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8108000/8108940.stm"><P>One of the most common is when cells in the leaf lose chlorophyll and their ability to photosynthesise, appearing white. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8108000/8108940.stm"><P>In theory, plants with variegated leaves should be at a disadvantage, because of this restricted ability to photosynthesise. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8108000/8108940.stm"><P>Mining moths lay larvae into the leaves, and the caterpillars then munch through the leaf surface, leaving a white trail of damage behind. </P></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/FA7C40A6-0B35-4495-B199-0C823E9FE39F/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content9.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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