Question: How much do you love plants?

Emma Markham answered on 8 Jun 2019:

I think plants are so important! We need them for the air we breathe and the food we eat. But I also enjoy a beautiful garden full of wildlife, and houseplants like orchids which bring greenery and joy to so many peoples homes (as well as the mental health benefits of being around green plants). So I think plants are vital for every aspect of our lives. Plants are also key if we want to travel to Mars and colonize other planets, as we will need to have a sustainable food source which can adapt and grow in new extreme conditions.

We are only just beginning to understand how plants communicate and some of there special adaptions, for example plants with flowers will increase the sugar content of the nectar when they ‘hear’ a bee nearby (likely through sensing the vibration of the wingbeats) and so encourage the bee to come back and pollinate the flower. Flowers also have markings in UV which we cannot see, but some insects can, in order to communicate with pollinating insects.

Plants could also be part of the solution to the single-use plastic problem at the moment, because scientists are developing new types of plastic from plant materials which is completely biodegradable. Plants could also be the source of new drugs and medication, which is vital now we face an antibiotic-resistant future. But plants could also help us live longer healthier lives, like the scientists who developed super-broccoli, which reduces the risk of heart disease and dementia.

So, while plants don’t seem exciting, because they don’t interact with us in the same way animals do, and they grow relatively slowly and cannot communicate with us, they are still really important and interesting to study!