Re:A plant that cannot die
by klyrs on Friday August 20, 2021 @08:36AM
(#28245296)
Contrast to the breathless headline,
> Although Welwitschia mirabilis is not at present immediately threatened, there being abundant populations over a large area, its status is far from secure; its recruitment and growth rates are low, and its range, though wide, covers only a single compact, ecologically limited and vulnerable area. The remarkable longevity of Welwitschia favours its survival of temporary periods adverse to reproduction, but it offers no protection against circumstances of direct threat, such as overgrazing and disease. Fungal infection of female cones severely reduces seed viability, reducing already inherently low recruitment. Other threats include injury from off-road vehicles, collection of wild plants and overgrazing by zebras, rhinos, and domestic animals.
Re:A plant that cannot die
by SamBam on Friday August 20, 2021 @08:54AM
(#28245418)
I don't think it's a needlessly "breathless" headline. Some of the individual plants are over 2000 years old. That's incredible for a non-tree organism, particularly one that lives in the middle of the desert.
But yes, in the end the anthropocene will come for all organisms.
> Although Welwitschia mirabilis is not at present immediately threatened, there being abundant populations over a large area, its status is far from secure; its recruitment and growth rates are low, and its range, though wide, covers only a single compact, ecologically limited and vulnerable area. The remarkable longevity of Welwitschia favours its survival of temporary periods adverse to reproduction, but it offers no protection against circumstances of direct threat, such as overgrazing and disease. Fungal infection of female cones severely reduces seed viability, reducing already inherently low recruitment. Other threats include injury from off-road vehicles, collection of wild plants and overgrazing by zebras, rhinos, and domestic animals.
But yes, in the end the anthropocene will come for all organisms.
Gonna have to remember that for the next time I stub a toe or step on a Lego...
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/millennium
>> "plural millennia\ mə- ˈle- nē- ə \ or millenniums"
Dictionaries are based on real-world usage, so a lexicographer found enough usage to print it.
https://www.lexico.com/definition/millennium https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/millenn... https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/millenni...