Ep. 580 - Celebrating a Foundational Aquatic Plant
5/31/20261 hr 1 min
What could be better than a tiny plant with an outsized impact on the world around it? Hornleaf riverweed AKA Podostemum ceratophyllum is one such plant. This tiny aquatic plant has so many mysterious surrounding it but what we do know is that it is foundational to the aquatic ecosystems in which it is found. Join me and Dr. James Wood as we take a deep dive on this unique aquatic plant and learn what you can do to help us understand and conserve it a little bit better. This episode was produced in part by Elise, Maggie, Mamie, A.J., Dallas, Channele, KC, Joe, Diane, Kim, Tanya, Neil, Matthew, April, Dana, Lilith, Sanza, Eva, Yellowroot, Wisewren, Nadia, Heidi, Blake, Josh, Laure, R.J., Carly, Lucia, Dana, Sarah, Lauren, Strych Mind, Linda, Sylvan, Austin, Sarah, Ethan, Elle, Steve, Cassie, Chuck, Aaron, Gillian, Abi, Rich, Shad, Maddie, Owen, Linda, Alana, Sigma, Max, Richard, Maia, Rens, David, Robert, Thomas, Valerie, Joan, Mohsin Kazmi Photography, Cathy, Simon, Nick, Paul, Charis, EJ, Laura, Sung, NOK, Stephen, Heidi, Kristin, Luke, Sea, Shannon, Thomas, Will, Jamie, Waverly, Brent, Tanner, Rick, Kazys, Dorothy, Katherine, Emily, Theo, Nichole, Paul, Karen, Randi, Caelan, Tom, Don, Susan, Corbin, Keena, Robin, Peter, Whitney, Kenned, Margaret, Daniel, Karen, David, Earl, Jocelyn, Gary, Krysta, Elizabeth, Southern California Carnivorous Plant Enthusiasts, Pattypollinators, Peter, Judson, Ella, Alex, Dan, Pamela, Peter, Andrea, Nathan, Karyn, Michelle, Jillian, Chellie, Linda, Laura, Miz Holly, Christie, Carlos, Paleo Fern, Levi, Sylvia, Lanny, Ben, Lily, Craig, Sarah, Lor, Monika, Brandon, Jeremy, Suzanne, Kristina, Christine, Silas, Michael, Aristia, Felicidad, Lauren, Danielle, Allie, Jeffrey, Amanda, Tommy, Marcel, C Leigh, Karma, Shelby, Christopher, Alvin, Arek, Chellie, Dani, Paul, Dani, Tara, Elly, Colleen, Natalie, Nathan, Ario, Laura, Cari, Margaret, Mary, Connor, Nathan, Jan, Jerome, Brian, Azomonas, Ellie, University Greens, Joseph, Melody, Patricia, Matthew, Garrett, John, Ashley, Cathrine, Melvin, OrangeJulian, Porter, Jules, Griff, Joan, Megan, Marabeth, Les, Ali, Southside Plants, Keiko, Robert, Bryce, Wilma, Amanda, Helen, Mikey, Michelle, German, Joerg, Cathy, Tate, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Lynn, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Brett, Jocelyn, Ethan, Sheryl, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Chris, Alana, Rachel, Joanna, Lori, Paul, Griff, Matthew, Bobby, Vaibhav, Steven, Joseph, Brandon, Liam, Hall, Jared, Brandon, Christina, Carly, Kazys, Stephen, Katherine, Manny, doeg, Daniel, Tim, Philip, Tim, Lisa, Brodie, Bendix, Irene, holly, Sara, and Margie.
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First 90 secondsMatt· Host0:00
Conversations like you're about to hear do not happen unless you support In Defense of Plants, and now more than ever, we need conversations like this to reach as many ears as possible. One of the best ways to help keep In Defense of Plants up and running is to become a patron over at patreon.com/indefenseofplants. In return for a tiny bit of support each month, you will get access to a completely separate podcast. It explores a lot of really fun gardening topics, everything from seed collection and storage, to growing native plants, the struggles of trying to garden in different climates, and so much more. It's a heck of a lot of fun. We're learning so much, and we're trying to share that with you. So come on and join the Patreon over at patreon.com/indefenseofplants and help keep this show up and running in the process. I hope to see you over there, but in the meantime, on with the show. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the In Defense of Plants podcast, the official podcast of indefenseofplants.com. What's up? This is your host, Matt. Welcome to the show. How is everyone doing this week? I'm doing great because any time I get to talk about cool, obscure plants that have an outsized impact on the ecosystem around them, I am a happy man, and today is one of those episodes. We are talking about a small aquatic plant called Podostemum serratifolium that grows all over freshwater rivers in eastern North America, and yet is so poorly understood. But what we do know about it is it's having massive impacts on stream ecologies wherever it grows. Joining us to talk about this is Dr. James Wood, who's devoted so much of his research career asking big ecological questions about the natural history