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Chapter 1 - Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Helgi Öpik
Affiliation:
University of Wales, Swansea
Stephen A. Rolfe
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield
Arthur J. Willis
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield
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Summary

Appreciating plants

During a public open day at a university, a child trying to look at a botanical exhibit was dragged away by an impatient parent with the words ‘Come on – we can't spend all day looking at dull green things!’

There is a tendency to consider plants as somewhat dull, passive and inactive. Yet plants face and overcome the same problems as animals: how to obtain nutrients and water, how to survive extreme environmental conditions, how to ensure reproduction and the survival of the next generation. The photosynthetic mode of life has conditioned plants to evolve as sessile organisms; their basic necessities – light, carbon dioxide, water and mineral ions – are ubiquitous and there has therefore been no selection pressure for mobility. An animal may obtain its nutrients and water by skilfully stalking its prey, and learning the path to a pool; this catches human attention as interesting behaviour. A flowering plant obtains nutrients and water by millions of minute root tips constantly growing through the soil, and by pumping ions across root cell plasma membranes with molecular-sized pumps. This is plant behaviour: plant physiology is plant behaviour. It need not be considered dull because it is less spectacular to the eye than what is called animal behaviour. The subsequent hauling up of the absorbed water and minerals to the top of a tree, 100 metres high, might indeed be considered a quite spectacular feat (imagine doing it with a bucket!).

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2005

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References

Anderson, J. W. & Beardall, J.Molecular Activities of Plant Cells. Oxford: Blackwell, 1991.Google Scholar
Dennis, D. T., Turpin, D. H., Lefebvre, D. D. & Layzell, D. B., eds. Plant Metabolism, 2nd edn. Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman, 1997.Google Scholar
Gunning, B. E. S. & Steer, M. W.Plant Cell Biology, Structure and Function. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett, 1996.Google Scholar
Lea, P. J. & Leegood, R. C., eds. Plant Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2nd edn. Chichester: Wiley, 1999.Google Scholar
Mauseth, J. D.Plant Anatomy. Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin/Cummings, 1988.Google Scholar
Mauseth, J. D.Botany: an Introduction to Plant Biology, 2nd edn. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett, 1998.Google Scholar
Taiz, L. & Zeiger, E.Plant Physiology, 3rd edn. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer, 2003.Google Scholar
Troughton, J. & Donaldson, L. A.Probing Plant Structure. London: Chapman & Hall, 1972.Google Scholar

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  • Introduction
  • Helgi Öpik, University of Wales, Swansea, Stephen A. Rolfe, University of Sheffield
  • Edited in consultation with Arthur J. Willis, University of Sheffield
  • Book: The Physiology of Flowering Plants
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139164450.002
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  • Introduction
  • Helgi Öpik, University of Wales, Swansea, Stephen A. Rolfe, University of Sheffield
  • Edited in consultation with Arthur J. Willis, University of Sheffield
  • Book: The Physiology of Flowering Plants
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139164450.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Helgi Öpik, University of Wales, Swansea, Stephen A. Rolfe, University of Sheffield
  • Edited in consultation with Arthur J. Willis, University of Sheffield
  • Book: The Physiology of Flowering Plants
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139164450.002
Available formats
×