Ep. 581 - The Complex World of Plant/Fungi Interactions
6/7/20261 hr 14 min
Plants are habitat. Heck, even a single leaf is habitat. Same goes for plant roots. This is especially true when we consider insects and fungi. But how do these organisms interact? How do they change over gradients of moisture, temperature, space, and time? Why do we consider some parasitic while others are mutualists? The world of ecological interactions is extremely complex but people like Dr. Chris Bivins are taking stabs at trying to gain insights piece by piece. Join us for an wonderfully deep dive on the amazing ways oaks, gall wasps, fungi, and mycoheterotrophic plants live out their mysterious lives together. This episode was produced in part by Chris, Gerald, 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.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMatt· Host0:02
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 we are taking a deep dive into the complicated nature of plant fungal interactions. This world is remarkably complex, and everywhere we look, we're learning something new each and every day. And today's a great example of the idea that plants are habitat. And not just plants as a whole. Different organs can be hosts to different communities of organisms, especially when it comes to things like fungi, both living on and within the leaves themselves. Joining us to talk about this is Dr. Chris Bivens, who spends a lot of time thinking about endophytic fungi on leaves,