From the giant sequoias of the Sierra Nevada to the stinking corpse lilies of tropical forests in Southeast Asia, plants take astonishing forms. Despite all relying on the same basic ingredients to thrive—sunlight, water, air, and nutrients—the plant world is endlessly diverse.
But what do plants mean to people at McGill? The Tribune asked students and faculty to share their favourite plant facts.
The flowering takeover – Frieda Beauregard, the academic associate and curator of McGill’s herbarium
Among the 391,000 plant species worldwide, about 90 per cent are angiosperms—flowering plants—whose diversity stems from a key evolutionary change related to reproduction. While their gymnosperm relatives—conifers, cycads, and ginkgos—can take up to two years to produce seeds, some angiosperms can complete their entire life cycle in just a few weeks. This rapid life cycle opened the door to entirely new lifestyles.
“All in all, angiosperms are a very diverse group and are the source of most of our food plants and are important in every (terrestrial) ecosystem,” Beauregard wrote in a written statement to The Tribune. “They have a huge diversity of life-cycles and all different kinds of pollination systems, seed dispersal adaptations, secondary chemicals, etc.”
Fascinating Sphagnum– Frieda Beauregard
Sphagnum mossesare a group of plants that are commonly found in peatlands—a type of wetland that stores large amounts of carbon.
“What I find most remarkable is Sphagnum’s ability to control and build their environment,” wrote Beauregard. “They are sort of like beavers, ecosystem engineers that create their particular wetland habitats. Mainly, they do this by manipulating the soil chemistry and holding onto a lot of water, resulting in very acidic conditions and […] specialist communities of plants [such as blueberries and orchids].”
The twilight effect – David Wees, Plant Science faculty lecturer and associate director of the Farm Management and Technology Program
After sunset, an interesting plant phenomenon occurs. During the day, red light dominates over far-red light—a range of wavelengths bordering the edge of the visible light spectrum. But once the sun sets, far-red light becomes more abundant, which acts as a signal for plant development.
“When plants are exposed to lots of far-red light, their stems tend to grow tall and skinny,” Wees wrote to The Tribune//. “To prevent plants from growing tall and skinny (with weak stems), some greenhouse growers will turn on artificial lights for an hour or two right around sunset to counteract this ‘twilight effect,’ therefore keeping their plants more compact and ‘bushy.’”
The science behind beeturia – David Wees
Plants are known to produce a range of pigments, such as green chlorophyll and yellow and orange-looking carotenoids. Since chlorophyll and carotenoids do not dissolve in water, they either accumulate in fat or are digested when they are consumed.
“Beets, however, contain a pigment called betacyanin, which is red or purple,” wrote Wees. “Betacyanin is very water-soluble and not completely digested by our body. So some of it ends up in our urine […], changing its colour to orange-red (depending on how many beets you ate, of course).”
Evolution at full speed – Cameron So, PhD candidate in the Department of Biology
When you think about lupines, also known as Lupinus, you picture the striking purple blooms that dominate Instagram posts from places like New Zealand and Iceland. Yet beyond their photogenic appeal, lupines are also remarkable for their extraordinary diversity.
The diversification of lupines occurred during the formation of the Andes, a geological event that created isolated, island-like habitats for lupines. Within these newly available environments, lupine species arose at a pace comparable to that of the famous cichlid fish diversification event, which led to the formation of approximately 2,000 species within 15,000 years. As a result, this flowering plant group now exhibits strikingly different variations.
Odd Quebec plants – Antoine Larocque, SciTech Staff Writer
In Quebec, there are about 3,000 native species. Some of the unique specimens you may encounter in your next hike are Monotropa uniflora, a fungus parasite that does not produce chlorophyll; Osmundastrum cinnemomeum, a fern species that still persists after 74 million years; Sarracenia purpurea, a carnivorous plant; and Myrica gale, a shrub with an intense aromatic flavour that acts as a natural insecticide. You should go find them.