Dr. Lazauski

Animals have many methods and ways of defending themselves such as protecting their progeny, food, water and territory.

They use claws, fangs, venom, odor, camouflage and work in groups among others ways to help facilitate their continuing evolutionary success.

We know this happens because we see it happening around us or can watch it on one of the environmental channels.

But, what we don’t usually do is take the time to see how plants do the same thing. Their ways of competing and defending are widely varied, which include out reproducing, out living other plants in extreme conditions and using up more of a scare resource than their competition. Plants can also use poison in many cases, which changes the soil chemistry.

Plants, as far as we’re concerned, operate in slow motion. It can take days, weeks, years and even decades to see the final results of how they compete and defend themselves.

For example, pine trees use several methods. They will poison the ground around them with their pine needles. The needles as they decay, change the Ph of the soil making it more acidic which is antagonistic to the growth of many other plants that compete with them.

Pines shade out sunlight, which inhibits plant growth and helps to eliminate or control their competition. Once a grove of pine trees is established they have the majority of the nutrients and water for their use.

Out reproducing their competition is another way plants stay head. Pines reproduce using the wind to spread large amounts of their pollen resulting in yellow cars during certain times the year. Their seeds are spread by the wind and animals for the most part resulting in new stands of pines anywhere the seeds fall on suitable ground.

A general in WWII once said “He who gets there firstist, with the mostist, wins.” I guess the plants were listening.

Some plants have a waxy surface on their leaves to aid in water retention. There are structures on leaves called stomata, which open and close to regulate water and respiratory functions.

Many plants have thorns and stickers, which inhibits animals from using them as a food source. Some plants use poison as a defense. For example, tobacco has nicotine, which is an insecticide, and milkweed does something similar with its milky sap so animals won’t eat it. There are some plants that are bad for humans too. It has been said that Socrates’ last words were “I just drank what?”

When we look out at the neighbor’s neatly tended flowerbed we are seeing plants that in many cases couldn’t live without us eliminating their competition for them (weeding), providing food (fertilizer) and water, using insecticides to keep the bugs off them and fencing out the animals that would have them for lunch. Do you live in a flowerbed or a pine grove?

Think Global -Act Local!

Dr. Lazauski can be seen on his television show “Eco-Bites”, which airs on Mediacom’s channel 14 and Smartel’s channel 4. To reach Dr. Lazauski for questions and comments, send e-mails to IchiOrca@yahoo.com. For more information, see his Web site, drskiponline.com.