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00:00This episode is brought to you by S.T.A.L.D.
00:30Although ants are tiny insects, they can be very harmful to plant life.
00:44This enormous jungle tree is powerless against a colony of ants.
00:53Little light penetrates the thick foliage during the day.
00:56An extraordinary sight unfolds in the Peruvian jungle floor.
01:00A long procession of leafcutter ants transports leaves to their nest.
01:13Large worker ants use their powerful, razor-sharp jaws to cut a section of a leaf with unmatched
01:19precision.
01:26A ravenous colony of ants can consume more leaves than a group of elephants.
01:45This tree will be completely defoliated in just a few days.
01:52The worker ants carry leaves that are several times larger than themselves to their nest.
01:57Some ant processions can reach several hundreds of meters.
02:00But what makes these ants special is the fact that they are the first creatures on earth
02:04that grew their own food.
02:13Smaller ants in the colony are tasked with growing fungus.
02:16They take the leaves harvested by the larger worker ants and break them down into smaller
02:20pieces which are added to the fungus garden.
02:25The fungus cultivated by the ants is rich in protein and fed to the larvae.
02:34This is how leafcutter ant colonies have lived for over 50 million years.
02:42Every year, one-fifth of all newly grown leaves in the rainforest will be harvested by leafcutter
02:46ants.
02:48But is that how the story always ends for trees?
02:54Plants and trees use intelligent and sometimes cruel tactics to repel their enemies.
03:18In a rainforest in Borneo, there lives an impressive insect-eating plant.
03:28It's a pitcher plant called Nepenthes.
03:36Most plant species draw nutrients from the soil and use energy from sunlight for photosynthesis.
03:41But when the soil environment lacks enough minerals to sustain plant life, some plants will devise
03:46new ways to collect energy, like this pitcher plant which preys on insects.
03:54The bud of Nepenthes grows into a tube-shaped pitcher cup.
04:00As the plant grows, it develops striped patterns and reveals an opening with a lid.
04:22It takes 15 days to a month for the pitcher cup to fully develop.
04:28The lid prevents rain from seeping into the pitcher.
04:31Insects are lured with sweet nectar that lies at the ribs of the peristone.
04:39A lone ant is attracted to the eye-catching colors and scent given off by the carnivorous
04:44plant.
04:45Sweet nectar and nutrients on the plant's lip entices the ant.
04:54It will lead the ant to the death trap below.
05:02The curved lip is slippery.
05:11Once an insect falls into the pitcher, it is impossible to crawl out of it because the
05:15walls are slippery too.
05:27In the course of several days, the plant will use digestive agents to absorb the nutrients
05:32from the ant.
05:34Only the ant's exoskeleton will remain.
05:49Carnivorous plants use ingenious ways to hunt insects for food.
05:57The bladderwort, an aquatic plant, has the quickest reflexes in the world.
06:05It drifts in the water instead of staying in one place.
06:08Since there are fewer nutrients in water than in soil, the bladderwort must forage for nutrients.
06:18All bladder-shaped traps on the branches catch insects.
06:27Instead of using roots to absorb nutrients, the bladderwort relies on these traps.
06:35It mainly catches mosquito larvae and water fleas.
06:43When a mosquito larva approaches, it is sucked into the bladder.
06:48Everything happens in a split second.
07:01On closer inspection, the trap has trigger hairs.
07:07When an insect brushes against a trigger hair, the trap sucks it in and then closes.
07:12Once caught inside, the larva dies from suffocation.
07:18A high-speed camera is used to capture the plant's astonishing reaction speed.
07:25The larva approaches.
07:27The trap sucks in water along with the larva.
07:33And the door closes in a split second.
07:36Since when did plants develop such ingenious strategies?
07:484.5 billion years ago, there was no life on planet Earth.
07:54Greenhouse gases filled the atmosphere, and the ocean was too hot and salty to support life.
08:02A billion years later, something miraculous happened.
08:06The first life form emerged in Earth's sea, on the west coast of Australia.
08:16Made from microorganisms, these stromatolites were formed 3.5 billion years ago.
08:22They produced oxygen through continuous photosynthesis.
08:27Tiny microorganisms went on to evolve into moss, which developed into plants.
08:32Tiny microorganisms went on to evolve into plants, which developed into plants.
08:39During the Silurian period of the Paleozoic era 400 million years ago, the first plant that
08:46grew on land was the Cooksonia.
08:51This primitive plant had a split stalk with a spore structure on each branch.
08:55It could only survive near water because it needed constant moisture.
09:00It also needed water to multiply.
09:04So how did the early ancestors of land plants look like?
09:20On the southern coast of Jeju Island.
09:27The skeleton fork fern is likely to have been the first vascular plant on Earth.
09:31This fern plant lacks roots and leaves.
09:38Its Y-shaped branches indicate that it's a primitive plant.
09:49Without any leaves, it relies on its stalk to collect sunlight for photosynthesis.
09:53However, this is not efficient.
09:57The fern spores are used to seed new plants.
10:03When the spores inside the sporocyst mature, it will be swept away by the wind.
10:08Once it lands on moist ground, it will take root and grow.
10:15The first land plants had inherent disadvantages, which they overcame through ingenious survival techniques.
10:26The earliest known tree in the world is Archaeopterus, which appeared 370 million years ago.
10:36It had a stout trunk and long branches.
10:39Having feather-like shaped fronds, the tree was named Archaeopterus.
10:49Archaeopterus grew as tall as 8 meters and bore a resemblance to modern conifers.
10:55This primitive tree formed the earliest forest as it became the dominant species in Earth's vegetation.
11:08Diamond-shaped patterns are pronounced in this petrified Lepidodendron.
11:15Lepidodendron first appeared on Earth 300 million years ago.
11:20They grew as tall as a 10-story building.
11:23Their towering height and cluster of large leaves enabled them to have robust photosynthesis.
11:28They proliferated in wetlands.
11:34The Earth's atmosphere had higher oxygen concentration levels during the Carboniferous period when giant insects were abundant.
11:41Megonura, the largest flying insect ever known, had a wingspan that exceeded 70 centimeters.
11:48As plants became more numerous, Earth's ecosystem teemed with life.
11:52In a rainforest in Costa Rica.
12:06Daniel Jansen, a world-renowned expert in the rainforest, is a biology professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
12:13He has dedicated his life to studying plants and insects in tropical climates.
12:18And you can see there's one stinging me there, trying to…
12:22Among his research work, he studies the symbiotic relationship between the bullhorn acacia and ants.
12:32This acacia tree features horn-like thorns in which ants make their home.
12:51The ants feed on the nectar secreted from the acacia branches.
12:58No matter how much nectar they eat, the supply seems to be endless.
13:03But the tree is not providing this for free.
13:06The nectar is exchanged for the ant's services.
13:10Brown protein lipid nodules on the leaves also provide nourishment for the ants.
13:30With plenty of food to eat, the Pseudomermex ants do not need to prey on other insects.
13:35And the ants dwell in the recesses of the hollowed-out thorns.
14:02The swollen thorns provide a safe home for the ants, where they can lay eggs.
14:06In return for all of this, the ants fulfill an important role.
14:25They aggressively defend the tree from acacia leaf-eating insects.
14:32This ladybug is under attack from the rushing ants.
14:40Many herbivores and insects like eating the acacia's tender leaves and sweet nectar.
14:57So the ants defend the tree from harmful insects in exchange for food and shelter.
15:03The tree has changed, evolved, and the ants have changed, evolved.
15:09They've changed from being hunters to being policemen.
15:12And all they do is protect the tree.
15:14She lives about 15 to 20 years.
15:17And when she dies, the colony dies.
15:20And when the colony dies, the tree dies.
15:31Without the ants, the acacia tree would be unable to survive.
15:35So, it has evolved to accommodate the ants, to ensure its survival.
15:52But a peaceful symbiotic relationship is not always pursued by plants.
15:57Some plants survive by relying on their killer instincts.
16:01In a thick jungle, plants must compete for sunlight by growing as tall as possible,
16:14because little light reaches below the canopy.
16:22This enormous tropical fig tree is called the strangler fig.
16:27It's branches weave around the trunk of a tree.
16:34A strangler fig latches onto a host tree.
16:41While most trees scatter their seeds on the ground,
16:43the strangler fig grows in a different place.
16:46A fig seed will grow when it is dropped on top of a tree.
16:57It will envelop the tree and suck its nutrients.
17:03Meanwhile, it will grow its roots downward and strangle the tree to death.
17:07Within five years, the strangler fig's roots will reach the ground and take away water from the host.
17:22The support tree will eventually die, leaving behind a columnar tree with a hollow core.
17:32After killing the host, the fig will grow upwards towards the sunlight.
17:35After killing the host, the fig will grow upwards towards the sunlight.
17:48It will live on for several hundreds of years, claiming its territory.
18:01Many insects and birds eat the fruit and seeds of trees for food.
18:20The red crossbill is no exception.
18:34The bird packs a pine cone to get to the seeds and eat them.
18:37The sight is fairly common in nature, but it's a scene that embodies a vital shift in the history of plant life.
18:51The appearance of seeds.
18:53The ginkgo is called a living fossil.
19:10They existed during the Jurassic period when dinosaurs flourished.
19:14A ginkgo is a gymnosperm that relies on pollination between pollen cones and ovulate cones.
19:32Pollination is the process in which plants reproduce and bear seeds.
19:36The modal sperm or pollen has to fertilize the egg in the ovule of the ginkgo.
19:52Firmly rooted to the ground, ginkgo stand immobile.
19:55So the ginkgo must rely on the wind to carry its pollen to another ginkgo tree.
20:01Carried aloft by the wind, ginkgo pollen fertilizes an egg.
20:17When the pollination is successful, the tree will produce seeds.
20:31Although they are technically seeds, people commonly call them fruit.
20:39Using seeds to reproduce its species, ginkgo trees spread far and wide.
20:43After eating the fruit, dinosaurs and small mammals spread the seeds in their droppings.
20:53Say for one species, all ginkgos were suddenly wiped out in the Cenozoic era 65 million years ago.
21:00Around the time ginkgo trees vanished, a new plant species evolved.
21:19They were flowering plants.
21:22Magnolias grow flower petals before they grow leaves and retain the characteristics of primitive flowering plants.
21:42Having both the stamen and genesium in a single flower allowed the plant to reproduce more efficiently.
21:47Archae fructus is the earliest known flowering plant.
21:58This fossil is dated at 125 million years old.
22:08It looks starkly different from modern plants.
22:10Having no sepals or petals, Archae fructus has been revealed as coming from the angiosperm family.
22:21Although it was an aquatic plant, it was able to bloom above water where insects in the wind would carry its pollen.
22:34The beautiful colors and enchanting floral scent of flowers are tools to ensure the survival of its species.
22:49An amazing flower grows deep in the Borneo rainforest.
23:05It is the Rafflesia, the world's largest single flower.
23:08It is unmistakably a flowering plant with its oversized petals.
23:12It is unmistakably a flowering plant with its oversized petals.
23:16The flower has a one-meter diameter and weighs as much as 10 kilograms.
23:29It takes a week for it to fully extend its petals.
23:34The flower has a one-meter diameter and weighs as much as 10 kilograms.
23:39It takes a week for it to fully extend its petals.
23:48Rafflesia does not have any stems or leaves.
23:51It is a parasitic plant that absorbs nutrients from vines.
24:00When the flower blooms for three to seven days, it must be pollinated during the short window of time.
24:05Giving off a smell like rotten flesh, Rafflesia is called the corpse flower.
24:16It attracts flies with this scent.
24:19The flies will pollinate the flower as it moves from one Rafflesia to another.
24:38Without the help of flies, the world's largest flower could not exist.
24:45Plants cannot move once they take root in the soil.
24:57However, they are able to spread their seeds for a considerable distance.
25:02This is made possible by their blooming flowers.
25:05Flowering plants attract insects with their bright colors and honey.
25:14This honey bee will fly away with more than honey.
25:20It will also transport pollen to other flowers.
25:23Flowers have developed nectar guides to help insects find the honey.
25:37Insects can detect ultraviolet rays that are invisible to the human eye.
25:42After using a filter that only passes ultraviolet rays, hidden patterns appear on the flower.
25:46The petals reflect ultraviolet rays, making them brighter, whereas the center of the flower absorbs the rays, giving them a dark color.
26:04Let's take a look at this lily.
26:06A pattern of long lines lead to the flower's center.
26:15Similar patterns are revealed in this flower as well.
26:18The lines show the insects where the honey is located.
26:2140% of a sample of 200 flowers shot under a filter reveal these patterns.
26:32And experts have found that honey bees will stay within the black area.
26:38The flower strategy is tailored to pollinating insects.
26:41Flowers also use camouflage to attract insects like this mountain hydrangea.
27:02The larger florets are sterile, but have a showy appearance.
27:05They trick insects and butterflies into approaching.
27:13In the center of the cluster lie the smaller, fertile florets.
27:17Without this camouflage tactic, the mountain hydrangea would not be able to reproduce.
27:21The harsh winter cold has arrived.
27:35Though there are no signs of any flowers, the plants are not dead.
27:40They are in hibernation.
27:41In early spring, the Chinese twin leaf blooms after its stem grows upwards.
27:57It grows flower petals before its leaves.
28:03This type of Chinese twin leaf blooms once it matures in three years.
28:07It does not reproduce in large numbers.
28:09It possesses an outsized flower in relation to its small stem.
28:22This is necessary to attract bees and butterflies.
28:26As a monocarpic flower, the Chinese twin leaf will die after it's pollinated and produces seeds.
28:33The flower bud is teeming with seeds.
28:37The flower bud is teeming with seeds.
28:40In June or July, the seeds will be ready to scatter.
28:43The Chinese twin leaf relies on ants to spread its seeds.
28:44The white substance on the surface of the Chinese twin leaf seed is called a leosome, giving off a sweet scent to attract ants.
28:46It is rich in lipids and proteins.
28:47The white substance on the surface of the Chinese twin leaf seed is called a leosome, giving off a sweet scent to attract ants.
28:59It is rich in lipids and proteins.
29:00When an ant is carrying a Chinese twin leaf seed, it clamors around in a zigzag pattern.
29:01Since the white substance cannot be separated from the seed, the white substance cannot be separated from the seed.
29:04The white substance on the surface of the Chinese twin leaf seed is called a leosome, giving off a sweet scent to attract ants.
29:13It is rich in lipids and proteins.
29:15When an ant is carrying a Chinese twin leaf seed, it clamors around in a zigzag pattern.
29:28Since the white substance cannot be separated from the seed, the ants carry the whole seed to their nest.
29:33After the antithiolaism, they will discard the seed, and the seed will grow in its new surroundings.
29:51In tropical regions, you can find the world's only tree species that is viviparous.
30:14It is a mangrove.
30:16Mangrove seeds hang from the tree branches.
30:23Living in coastal habitats which are harsh on plant life due to the high salinity levels, mangroves have evolved to ensure that their offspring survive.
30:39When the tree produces a seed, it doesn't scatter it.
30:54A mangrove seed will germinate while attached to the parent tree for a long period.
30:58They will hang from the branch until they form a propagule, or seedling.
31:10When the seedlings fall to the ground, they will stick out upright, and they will take root instead of being carried off by the river.
31:33Living in coastal regions where fresh water and salt water meet, mangrove trees have developed ways to increase their survival.
31:52In tropical forests, some flowers depend more on birds rather than insects to be pollinated.
32:15Birds are also pollinators.
32:22The hummingbird is very industrious.
32:25They only inhabit America and have co-evolved with flowering plants.
32:30About the size of an adult's thumb, the hummingbird can flap its wings as many as 80 times per second.
32:37It hovers in mid-air to drink nectar.
32:39It must hover because there is no place for it to perch on.
32:44Due to their high metabolism, hummingbirds must constantly drink nectar to survive.
32:56Heliconia flowers feature bright colors and over 200 types exist in nature.
33:01They are mainly pollinated by hummingbirds, but specific Heliconia species have specific hummingbirds to pollinate them.
33:17This long curved bill is well suited for reaching the nectar inside the flower.
33:24The hummingbird's bill is a perfect fit with a Heliconia flower.
33:33Without hummingbirds, some Heliconia species cannot produce seeds.
33:42When a hummingbird drinks the nectar, pollen will attach to its beak to be spread to other flowers.
33:47Heliconia and hummingbirds have evolved together to be perfectly compatible.
34:10Plants are intelligent in how they adapt to their environment.
34:13Like a living creature, this ivy climbs a tree.
34:32Its aerial roots look like human hands.
34:34But as the ivy climbs, it searches for sunlight and moisture.
34:44It does not blindly climb up a tree in a straight line.
34:47An ivy has a unique structure that makes it well adapted for tree climbing.
34:57The secret lies in its aerial roots.
35:01The aerial roots are about 3 millimeters in length, and each one has several suction cups.
35:15It uses these to affix itself to the tree bark.
35:17It also secretes a substance that has the adhesive power of solid concrete.
35:34Thus, the stem of an ivy can support 2 million times its weight while attached to a wall.
35:38Using this intelligent strategy, an ivy can move where it wants and grow its stems according to the height of a tree or wall.
35:52A plant's rapid movement is as complex as the reaction of living creatures' nervous systems.
36:06Shaped like a clamshell, the leaves of a flytrap have an array of sensitive hairs.
36:10Once an insect touches a hair, the leaves will close in less than a second.
36:31Resistance is futile.
36:35Once it catches a prey, the flytrap will never let go no matter how hard the insect tries to free itself.
36:49The trap will seal itself and form a stomach where enzymes are secreted by the plant.
36:55The insect will be digested within 2 weeks.
36:58There is a way to override the flytrap's mechanism.
37:06The leaves will close only when a second hair is contacted within 30 seconds from which the first contact was made.
37:13When no prey is caught in its trap, it will open its leaves a few hours later.
37:19A trap that has been used three to four times to catch and digest an insect will wither.
37:28Even small frogs can be digested by the flytrap.
37:46It is a cruel way to kill prey, but it's vital for their survival.
38:04These crafty and intelligent survival tactics have allowed plants to spread throughout nature.
38:20And nature reaps benefits from plant diversity.
38:23At the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, Dr. Edward Allen Hurry conducts research on figs.
38:32Fig trees are called the tree of life in these parts.
38:43They bear fruit all year round, providing nourishment to all kinds of animals.
38:48Figs have entered a mutual relationship with wasps.
39:01But only a specific species of wasp can fertilize a specific fig.
39:09I'll show you right here.
39:11Just a millimeter in length, the fig wasp will lay eggs inside the fig fruit.
39:16The wasp would crawl inside one of these things.
39:21The scientific name is Syconium.
39:25Enclosed in the structure, the fig fruit provides adequate protection to the wasp eggs.
39:36The eggs hatch inside the fruit, and usually the male wasps will hatch first.
39:41The wingless male has a sperm pouch at the end of its body.
39:50As soon as the male hatches, it will search for the eggs of a female in order to mate.
39:59The male can fertilize the female before it even hatches.
40:05After finding an egg containing a female, the male will penetrate it and mate with it.
40:17Once the female wasp hatches, it has a dual mission.
40:20First, it must repay the fig tree for providing it with food and shelter by pollinating it,
40:25and at the same time, lay eggs to reproduce.
40:30The winged female will scrape pollen together and attach it to its body.
40:35Now, it is ready to leave the fig.
40:37Like its ancestors, the wasp will carry out its duty as it has done for millions of years.
40:46The female will pollinate another fig tree.
40:55This is the coevolutional relationship between the fig wasp and figs.
41:00It depends on the female to follow through with pollination.
41:05After the female lays its eggs, it will die and the fig will consume its corpse.
41:17These two species have evolved beautifully together for a long period of time.
41:22This is coevolution in the sense that for over 90 million years, 80 million years at least,
41:30figs have used wasp to pollinate them and wasp have used figs to reproduce,
41:36and the characteristics of each one have become very finely tuned
41:41to allow the other one to exploit the system.
41:49The fig fruit was made possible through cooperation between the fig and wasp.
41:54Through sacrifices and dedication, trees have provided food to creatures,
41:59supporting forests throughout the ages.
42:07Many animals on earth depend on plant life to live.
42:16Evolving and overcoming challenges posed by harsh habitats,
42:20plants have supported most life on earth.
42:24But if plants had not moved out of water onto the land,
42:27we wouldn't have any terrestrial ecosystems today.
42:30Plants are absolutely fundamental.
42:33They are the energetic foundation on which all of our terrestrial ecosystems are built.
42:40Without plants, there would have been no insects.
42:43Without plants, there would have been no land vertebrates.
42:46Without land vertebrates, there would have been no us.
42:50Do you still believe that smart humans are using plants?
42:57Maybe it is the other way around, where plants are using humans to propagate their species through human farming.
43:03Life on earth flourishes through such mutual relationships.
43:13This is the eternal cycle of life.
43:16Thus, animals and humans might be the supporting cast on a platform supported by plants.
43:22Hidden in plain sight, plants are the true rulers of the planet.
43:31This is the eternal cycle of the planet.
43:32To save the planet.
43:33To save the planet.
43:34To save the planet.
43:35To save the planet.
43:37Hellry bed.
43:39The wants to save the planet.
43:40To save the planet.