DVD BBC - Life Disc 4: Plants (2010)

BBC - Life Disc 4: Plants (2010)

Plants are dependent on three main elements for survival: sunlight, water and nutrients. They’re fiercely competitive and cunningly opportunistic. Sunlight is a rare commodity on the forest floor, so aggressive climbers such as Boston ivy and cats-claw creeper use other plants as a ladder to get to the light. More than 20,000 different kinds of plants spend their entire life in the forest canopy, getting their nutrients by trapping dead leaves in their roots. Where there is little rain, plants find clever ways of capturing and retaining water. The dragon’s blood tree survives in a rocky desert solely on moisture from mist, while other plants, such as the desert rose, lose their leaves to stop evaporation and carefully store water in their trunks. Carnivorous plants, like the sundew and Venus flytrap, set clever snares for unsuspecting insects and pounce without mercy.

Peter's DVD rating:
577 LIF QH 501.L544 2010

0:40	Bristlecone Pine oldest	1:10	Bamboo fastest growing - 30 meters in 90 days	5:30	Boston Ivy climbs with suckers
6:20	Cat's Claw Creeper has hooks in its tendrils	6:50	Passion Flower tendrils flail in midair to find anchor point	7:45	Air plants grow on other trees; exposed roots absorb rainwater and trap decaying leaves
9:40	Sundew gives off sweet fragrance, traps emergent mosquito with sticky tentacles to obtain nitrogen	12:00	Venus Flytrap gives off fragrant nectar across leaves with 6 tiny hairs. Fly touches 2 hairs within 20-second timer and triggers electrical impulse	15:00	Venus Flytrap flowers attract pollinators; 80% of plant species have flowers.
17:00	Sunflower warmed by sun, pollinated by bees (southern France)	17:45	Richea Honeybush flower petals fuse, enclosing stamens to survive Antarctic winds (Cradle Mountain, Tasmania)	18:40	Black Currawong rips open outer casing got nectar, exposing stamens to pollinating insects
19:15	Monarch Butterfly egg laid on Sandhill Milkweed (sandy meadows of Florida)	20:30	Latex can drown Monarch Butterfly larva	21:00	Monarch Butterfly caterpillar chews through main vein of milkweed to drain sap.
22:00	Monarch Butterfly adult walks on milkweed flower, feet carry away pollen (California)	22:30	Heliconia has tiny flowers; only the Purple-throated Carib Hummingbird can reach nectar (Dominica, Caribbean)	24:20	Candelabra Flower waits more than a year for rain to bloom, then wither
26:00	Candelabra Flower inflorescence cartwheels like tumbleweed to disperse seeds, which immediately germinate (Africa)	27:00	Alsomitra seeds glide on wings like flying wing aircraft (Borneo)	29:15	Saguaro Cactus blooms at night to attract bats; each flower lasts one night; may produce 40 million seeds in lifetime.
31:10	Thousands of Saguaro Cactus seeds enclosed in succulent fruit, dispersed by White-winged Dove , ants and tortoise (Sonoran Desert, Arizona)	33:25	Dragon Blood Tree absorbs morning mist that condenses and funnels down its leaves, and shades soil with crown (Socotra Island, Arabian Sea)	35:25	Socotra Desert Rose
36:15	Red Mangrove roots submerged in seawater at high tide Pores on roots filter out salt; sacrificial leaves concentrate remaining salt and are dropped (Australia)	38:00	Deciduous trees make antifreeze as chlorophyll disappears	39:45	Pine trees make antifreeze in leaves as well as sap, can survive -40&
41:15	Bristlecone Pine needles live at over 3000 meters, can last more than 30 years, reach over 5000 years old	42:55	White Water Lily is reborn in spring	44:50	Grass make up 20% of all plant life
45:00	Rice	46:00	Wheat

0:40 Bristlecone Pine	1:10 Bamboo	5:30 Boston Ivy
6:20 Cat's Claw Creeper	6:50 Passion Flower	9:40 Sundew
12:00 Venus Flytrap	15:00 Venus Flytrap flowers	17:00 Sunflower
17:45 Richea Honeybush	18:40 Black Currawong	19:15 Monarch Butterfly egg
19:15 Sandhill Milkweed	20:30 Monarch Butterfly larva	21:00 Monarch Butterfly caterpillar
22:00 Monarch Butterfly	22:30 Heliconia	22:30 Purple-throated Carib Hummingbird
24:20 Candelabra Flower	26:00 Candelabra Flower inflorescence	27:00 Alsomitra
29:15 Saguaro Cactus	31:10 Saguaro Cactus seeds	31:10 White-winged Dove
31:10 ants	31:10 tortoise	33:25 Dragon Blood Tree
35:25 Socotra Desert Rose	36:15 Red Mangrove	38:00 Deciduous trees
39:45 Pine	41:15 Bristlecone Pine needles	42:55 White Water Lily
44:50 Grass	45:00 Rice	46:00 Wheat


Index	Feb 20, 2011	Peter Chen