November 18, 2022 • 62 mins
Every Plant Has A Story | The Podcast is where we collect and share and discover the stories, lessons, and passion behind the people who are always growing more.
This episode was produced by Gabriella Plants. You can find more information about the podcast at our website; EveryPlantStory.com
We'd love to hear from you! To submit an idea to the show, or to get in touch with Shane or the podcast team, email feedback@everyplantstory.com! :)
Learn more about our family business and order your next house plant online at GabriellaPlants.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
you're listening to the every plant story podcast where we collect share and discover the stories,
lessons and passions behind the people who are always growing more.
You're listening to the every plant story podcast and here is your host Shane.
(00:28):
Hey guys,
welcome to season two,
episode nine of every plant story podcast.
Uh This is the podcast.
We share all kinds of plant stories from us here in the life of the plants and all around the plant community.
And I'm so happy to have just as always on the podcast Brett our head grower here for Gabriel,
a plant's Hello everyone.
And for those who don't know,
I'm Shane Malloy and I'm the owner of Gabriella Plants uh third generation in my family to own the business and uh actually kind of cool now that not only were doing this podcast on video,
(00:57):
but we're recording it back at the original location uh that I grew up.
So who would have thought I'd be doing this in my childhood backyard?
I love it.
I love it.
That's awesome how things been in the greenhouse.
Amazing!
I mean,
it's crazy to think that summer is almost over.
I mean where does the time go?
It's hard to even catch people up on everything we've been able to accomplish since the last podcast.
(01:17):
Right?
I mean if the only way I would say is if you're wherever you're listening,
definitely follow us weekly.
I think we do weekly updates.
And when we post every Wednesday at eight p.m. Eastern central time.
That is kind of when we do our big announcements if there are any new products or anything out there.
So yeah it is hard to catch people up if they aren't following long week to week just because there is so much there's so much that we have,
(01:44):
I came over to the greenhouses this morning just to try to lend a hand and I was up early anyway so I it's much cooler in the mornings at the greenhouse.
So um I came over and they were working on picking out all the plants for this week's inventory update and they had already kind of made it through the majority of the list and I was like yeah I'm here to help.
How can I help?
(02:04):
And Hunter kind of showed me what was left to to go and pick out and I was like yeah some of those I'm gonna be honest I couldn't probably pick them out.
I'm I'm struggling to keep up with plants we've seriously added this year.
It's insane.
It's hard to keep up with.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Which is exciting for the consumer.
I mean we always have something new.
(02:25):
We're always growing more but we're not always just growing the same stuff.
Yeah.
And I mean it's also just a living testament to our shipping and our greenhouse teams that can keep them much straighter than I can.
Making sure you get the right plant either and that we're growing each plant the way that they want to be grown in the greenhouse.
Well Brett I know we have all kinds of stuff we did want to get into on today's podcast.
(02:46):
You've been doing lots of research.
You have some handy dandy notes with you.
This is gonna be a really,
really interesting and I think I opening podcast for all of our listeners.
So yeah.
And so at the beginning of every podcast,
before we get into kind of the meat of the topic that we're going to cover,
(03:07):
we do a couple of things at the top.
Um so first I have a botanical term of the day for you.
Alright,
so the term for today is ply kate spelled P L I C A T meaning with parallel folds,
pleaded or corrugated.
And so this term would be used in regards to most palm fronds.
(03:32):
So if you think of a palm leaf,
how it is,
you know,
corrugated and kind of pleated,
folded into each other for structure.
That leaf is a placate leaf.
Now,
is there a reason that we're aware that plants do this?
I always kind of imagined it was when exactly it's it's an evolutionary structural adaptation.
(03:54):
It allows the plants to have larger leaves and be able to support them as well as offering a larger surface area to some leaves that if they weren't placate,
they just wouldn't be as large.
And so I mean a lot of these palms that are placate need to be able to absorb as much sunlight as possible.
(04:17):
And so that's why they've kind of evolved this look interesting now.
What's always crazy when you do see him because I'm glad you mentioned palms as the example because you would also think at least to me,
you know,
I'm thinking of like the um,
the fan that you like,
you flip out and it has all those different,
you know,
sections those sections are typically,
or if you increase a piece of paper back and forth,
(04:39):
that typically is a really weak spot on a piece of paper if you do that enough times.
Yet in the palm trees,
I'm thinking about the top of my head seemingly as has more structure and is more structurally sound.
Absolutely.
And I mean it all comes down to like physiologically anatomically if you look at those folds,
(04:59):
the way that they're structured.
Usually each of those grooves or or those,
those edges are thicker.
Um Really?
Yes.
So they,
the plants,
No plants.
No.
And they figured it out.
Do we have any idea of when it came to be or what was poems like what first started?
I mean placate leaves are seen not just in palms.
(05:21):
Um,
but for a really long time leaves have been shaped this way.
That's awesome.
That's incredible technical term of the day.
Everyone placate trying to use it in an email and stay tuned to the end of the podcast where Brett will also teach me a new pronunciation because I definitely need the help with.
So after that um we like to cover a few new upcoming plants.
(05:46):
Uh so this of course is only good if you are listening to this right away as soon as we really sit.
But uh it certainly is possible even if you listen to this a couple weeks later,
that's something that I could still be on the website.
Um because we're always growing more.
So I am really excited to share a couple upcoming plants that we have.
(06:08):
So this is actually the first time that I'm making this announcement.
I haven't put this on instagram or anything yet.
But so we have been growing philodendron standalone from seed.
Yes and so and by growing them from seed growing a lot.
Yes.
So yeah,
you may think that oh okay we're gonna breed filled engine,
(06:32):
we're gonna set seed,
we're gonna have to,
so we're gonna have to harvest all those seeds and so all of those seeds,
Okay.
Some of these infra contestant seas have like thousands of seeds.
It's a totally different ballgame we're learning than the in theory um which can be far more predictable and reasonable.
Exactly.
And so it wasn't expected.
(06:55):
I'm actually kind of considering this philodendron standalone um like a virgin conception because I didn't pollinate the inflorescence.
I have no recollection of pollinating it.
There was no evidence that I pollinated it.
So either it pollinated itself,
(07:15):
there was a visitor of maybe an insect or who knows?
But so literally we just found these seeds ready to go ready to be harvested.
And so we planted them.
I believe it was june 28th and so they're two months old now.
Um We have our first batch in three inch and so next week we will be able to offer for the first time,
(07:40):
a limited batch of three inch filled engines.
Why are you so excited about this?
I know you've told me,
but I just well one,
it's a really really cool plant.
Um mature specimens like the mama plant that these came from has have leaves that are over four ft long.
I was gonna say the best way you can describe the mama plant is you could take a very cool nap.
(08:05):
Yes.
Yes,
it is a big plant.
It is a really big plant with really big leaves and philodendron is a type.
Um So some people may believe it got reclassified.
Um but because of that they have kind of this like our Bressant like tree like growth habit where they get kind of this real thick trunk that grow up.
(08:26):
And so obviously the baby's still have really small leaves.
But but seeing them compared to their mom is really,
really exciting because as a consumer,
you can get one of these and watch it grow up and I think a lot of us plant people really like that journey.
It's the plant equivalent to when your baby's foot is born or whatever and you're like,
(08:47):
oh,
it used to be like,
yeah,
the size of my thumb or whatever.
Like make the mold in the clay.
Exactly like we have that there's a couple different spots in the greenhouses where my,
my brothers and sisters and I would like,
yeah,
at various sizes as small elementary school kids put our handprints in there and yeah,
then the next time you go to build,
you're like,
oh wow,
I've grown up a little bit.
Yeah,
(09:08):
no,
but that's always cool to get to see,
I mean plants have to do it to animals have to do it too.
And any time that you can,
especially with the plant that,
you know,
in its mature size is going to get that big.
That's the full,
that's the full because you could still grow something from seed but it's just gonna grow a season or you know,
whatever else.
And that's cool.
(09:29):
Not the five year payoff photo of this could cover barely my eye of a speck and now I'm hiding behind the leaf.
You know,
which personal goals?
That's kind of my,
I mean,
I like that,
right?
I that kind of fits your personality if you could just like kind of hideaway under plants.
Yeah.
Any,
(09:50):
any plant I can make a cocoon out of is a,
is a plant I want to grow.
Yes,
it's Shane approved 100%.
No,
I just,
I've always even before the variegated plant craze and stuff like growing up in plants,
especially with,
you know the greenhouses and growing so many small plants.
You know,
growing up it was always,
that was the one really cool thing.
I mean downside.
(10:10):
You had dad who was seeking out and you know,
trying to uh tell you what different plants were.
But that was the cool part about going to botanical gardens are going to other like plant nurseries that were able to grow some of these huge things and then get to hear that.
Yeah,
they're they're spending years,
Oh years,
this one's been there for 20 years.
This one's been in this pot for 10 years and you're like,
oh my goodness gracious plants are definitely like a long term investment like your plan in the long game when it comes to plants,
(10:36):
but it's worth it.
Yeah.
Just cultivating cultivating and growing plants brings me so much joy.
I'm sure it brings our listeners like so much joy.
Absolutely.
Like I said when you can go from that small to that big,
that's like that's an experience that everyone needs to have a satisfying.
It is,
it is very satisfying.
The same as taking two plants that maybe you just have a note or two of and eventually having enough to share it with your friends.
(10:58):
Like yeah,
that is chef's kiss.
Um Well tell me about plant number two.
Okay,
so plan number two is,
so this Diefenbach Kia was really,
really big in the market a couple of years ago and it kind of disappeared.
Um,
but I think that the craze is still out there for it and people don't know where to get it.
And so I am excited to be offering uh,
(11:19):
tonight for the first reflector.
So reflector is a really,
really pretty plant.
It's got a lot of color to it,
a lot of color,
a lot of shine,
a really nice growth habit,
Great for lower light conditions.
I think they make a super cute house plant and another one of those houseplants that's not going to stay this size.
(11:40):
It is now either.
Like if in a larger form you can get some really pretty,
you know,
to go in a corner of a room.
Even definitely once some of ours continue to get bigger and bigger,
I look forward to putting them up and having like,
you know,
three and an eight inch shop will look really nice.
Uh,
growing up,
that was what my grandparents always did not with the Diefenbach specifically or whatever,
(12:04):
but like they always had the spot for the christmas tree and then the large houseplant rated,
they weren't gonna commit,
you know murder to a plant that wasn't supposed to live inside,
but they would have,
it was the same spot either way and it had to be a living thing either way.
Just had,
well,
I guess christmas tree isn't really living once you've chopped it,
but I mean it's surviving a slow,
(12:27):
painful death.
Um,
I have a love hate relationship with that because real big side changes.
But like do you support the plastic thing?
Because I have a very,
I cannot stand plastic plants,
you know that let's,
let's pin that and let's save it for a seasonal episode because I think we could definitely like,
let's bring on a christmas tree farm or something.
(12:47):
That's,
that's a good idea.
Zack wherever you are.
Start finding us a christmas tree farm.
Actually,
those are all probably up north.
Right?
Yeah.
Because I didn't say you probably don't get great growing conditions for those down here.
That's a good question.
Luckily we have a little bit of time before the holiday seasons left.
(13:08):
Um,
well that's awesome.
I love getting here.
I mean,
like you said,
there's so many new plants,
it's amazing.
And honestly there's been so many of these last couple weeks.
I've had to just,
how do you even say this can help me out here?
What is this related to?
Okay,
that makes more sense.
And um,
I think it's an unknown thing even right now,
(13:28):
although we have had a ton of people be able to participate with it,
but not only do you have a ton of material prepared for things like these podcasts,
but you're also going to be,
you have been and will continue to be offering a lot of our botanical classes that we were doing at shop online streamed across the United States,
the world for free.
Um um so definitely go register for those at plants dot L.
(13:50):
Y slash learn.
Um but I always love getting to watch those,
especially the material that you have presented a time or two now because that's how many times it takes me to finally learn how to say some of these words.
So I need the repetition.
So keep it up,
keep it up.
These botanical lecture series that we've been able to produce here are really,
(14:11):
really incredible,
highly educational.
I know I'm biased because I'm teaching them,
but I think that they're pretty fun to watch.
Um and so if you aren't familiar with what we're talking about,
definitely go check that link out that Shane just mentioned.
Um but currently we have three that we produce.
(14:33):
So we have an introduction house plans that everyone tells me pulls me aside after and they're like,
you know,
it's not really like a beginner intro.
It's more like a college level intro.
And so take that as you will.
And then we do an advanced propagation workshop and then we also do an epic fight mounting workshop.
Um I'm working on a four.
(14:55):
It's gonna be specialized plant adaptations,
which is gonna blow everyone out of the water.
I can't wait.
I can't wait.
Super excited.
So definitely go check those out.
Um We do them every month.
Well I know you also came to the podcast today with some new discovery research.
So do you want to lay that?
This one is Okay,
(15:15):
so this isn't the main topic that we're talking about for today.
But this discovery just as of this year,
just as of a couple of months ago this paper was published that the world was told about this new plant that was discovered.
It's a new nepenthes species.
Okay,
(15:39):
so it's native to North Kalimantan which is on the island of Borneo.
So think Indonesia.
And so okay,
so also the botanical,
the species epithet boudicca is latin for bashful.
So the reason that they named this new nepenthes this is because they discovered this nepenthes that grows pitfall traps the pitcher's underground,
(16:11):
what to trap underground in vertebrates and animals.
And so this is the first ever recorded discovery of a carnivorous plant growing and and not just growing as an anomaly but growing purposefully underground to trap underground living things.
(16:37):
So we're there obviously multiple.
Then if they're going as far as to say this is a species,
not like this is one under one leaf locations where this is um prevalent.
Oh man,
I have so many questions like one if you're now underground,
how is it being,
how is it moving?
(16:57):
How is it spreading?
So okay,
so the way that they discovered the plant was they found leaves and stems of this nepenthes above ground that lacked pictures which is abnormal.
So it does still flower above ground.
So they found a plant with flowers and leaves with no pictures.
(17:21):
And they were like this is weird because it should have pictures.
And so they kind of tried to follow that back.
And what they ended up discovering is the plant has these parts that it puts above ground that do produce chlorophyll and photosynthesize and they're green but most of the plant itself is underground and the stems and the leaves are uh they don't have chlorophyll,
(17:51):
they're white.
So it's it's growing the same way that a rhizome or you know any sort of creeping.
And so it pushes through the substrate.
And then once it finds natural cavities in the ground it creates those pictures in that cavity.
(18:13):
So when they went to discover this plant they literally were like digging in the ground.
Found this like hollowed out area and we're pulling out the pictures.
The craziest thing is and it just goes to show how little we know especially on a lot of these places that are so biodiverse Borneo,
Madagascar amazon rainforest basin.
(18:35):
Like a lot of these places.
There's so much life that we have yet to discover that they even found While they were doing this discovery they found a worm that was living inside this brand new nepenthes pitcher plant that is a new species.
Whoa!
Okay now you said that it was also going after invertebrates and and like small like invertebrates like insects and then um small other creatures like worms and they found some nematodes.
(19:08):
And okay so it's not it's not yet fall into a weird leaf trap and get eaten by a weird futuristic version of a carnivorous plant as like a human.
These are still relatively small.
Okay okay so they're not the largest one ever found.
Just the first to be found underground and not just found underground but working underground purposefully growing underground.
(19:33):
And so I highly recommend if anyone is interested you can see photos of this plant,
you can see all the you can see the like location of where they found it.
The list of all the different they said they found like 13 1300 different organisms in the in in five pictures they found 1300 something organisms.
(19:58):
Which is crazy.
So definitely go check it out.
Google nepenthes Patika.
Brand new discovery.
And I highly recommend reading the scientific paper yourself.
Alright so I have one last question about that and obviously I have not done as you just said to go research the photos.
I haven't seen the photo yet.
But does it talk about its orientation?
Like in how it was because like part of how you've explained to pin these to me at least the normal picture ones is like they have the coating on the side of the picture so that things fall down it so like is gravity working against it being located underground?
(20:34):
Well,
it seemed that the underground stem was growing like horizontally through the ground,
like a rye zone.
But the pictures themselves in the cavities were oriented kind of all different ways and I think because you're underground,
you're not relying on something necessarily falling into it as you are just hoping something eventually crawls into.
(20:59):
Get curious enough starts going in,
but then can't crawl out exactly because I mean underground,
all those insects and everything,
they're constantly zigzagging moving through tunnels.
So it's basically like,
oh,
they found this giant roomy tunnel go into it and there's no exit.
And so then they get stuck in it.
That's amazing.
So are so cool.
(21:19):
Alright.
So what are we talking about on the bulk of today's podcast?
Alright,
so the meat of this podcast is going to be on and this is a big one.
Everyone.
Radio activity and the effects of radiation on plants.
Alright,
I am in on this.
So,
we just need to give us some nuclear power.
(21:43):
Yeah,
nuclear power can do it.
All right.
Um,
but other people have been doing it in different ways.
And so if you've never heard anything as a listener,
if you've never thought about radiation and plants before,
this is not something that we Gabriel plants are coming up with.
(22:06):
This is something that exactly is not new.
And this is actually something that has been used by various government agencies for awhile actually.
Umm not just on house plants but on various food crops in general.
Yeah.
So I have a couple of different articles here.
(22:27):
Um And so one of them let me just so when it comes to radiating food or plants the term is called irradiation.
So the plants are irradiated.
So all irradiation done through the government is done through the U.
(22:49):
S.
Food and Drug Administration.
So they permit three different types of ionizing radiation to be used on foods.
Gamma rays from radioactive cobalt 60 or cesium 1 37 high energy electrons and X rays.
Okay and so believe it or not british and american patents were awarded in 1905 to people who brought up the idea of ionizing radiation to preserve food.
(23:24):
Okay so reserved I was gonna ask.
So what why number one?
Because I know there have been some plants.
It may be the first time um Some of folks may be hearing this but I know that we've been messing around um with plants from a cosmetic sense.
But you're saying for preservation of the food.
So the the way that this type of a radiation can be used on food products is a method of sterilization um as well as controlling or inhibiting growth on some things.
(23:59):
Um So actually uh like low dose of radiation to control insects in some foods and extend the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables.
So they say a radiation is a process by which products are exposed to ionizing radiation to achieve a variety of effects in foods,
(24:20):
radiation sterilizes or kills insects or microbial pests by damaging their genetic material.
Irradiation also slows ripening and sprouting in fresh fruits and vegetables by interfering with cell division.
So even though the U.
S.
(24:40):
D.
A.
Has approved all of these different methods,
basically it's on potatoes and onions and wheat and various things.
They say the only foods treated for commercial use in the United States are just small amounts of spices.
So even though they've approved these other methods,
(25:00):
they're not actively using them for commercial foods.
So they say okay,
but it is approved.
So hypothetically if I don't run out of soap to wash my potatoes and I happen to have an X ray machine laying around in my garage and said,
(25:21):
well I guess it's gonna have to do,
you can do it.
All right,
government.
That's when did they do that?
So the the last ones were actually approved 85 86.
Um So they do say that the only foods treated for commercial use in the United States are small amounts of spices,
less than 5% of spices in the United States are irradiated and they're used in processed foods.
(25:46):
But all of those irradiated spices as long as they're used as ingredients in something and not sold just loose as is it is not required to be disclosed on the retail label that those spices were irradiated interest.
So if I did have an X ray machine in my backyard,
I still have to put a layer table on the front of my corn or whatever and say this was clean by.
(26:12):
Alright,
well at least I'm glad for some level of transparency required here.
Um Why exactly did they propose this or approve this?
Who was asking them?
I think with a lot of scientific research and discovery and grants and funding,
it's just that it could be done Exactly.
(26:33):
They're just looking to see how can it be used potentially maybe one day in the future to do something.
Now.
I know they do a lot of things to preserve food.
They'll they'll coat it with some wax and different things.
And so this article,
I mean I'm only giving a,
you know,
a couple of snippets from this like 47 page article that was put out um by by the FDA.
Uh but the article basically goes over that it could be used for all these things,
(26:58):
but it currently isn't being used essentially boils down to cost it's super expensive to irradiate all these foods when we have other chemical or synthetic ways to do the same process.
Right?
And your doctor can't treat you nearly as much for an X ray if you find out that every carrot you've ever eaten has gone through an extra.
That is a great point.
(27:18):
That is a great point.
Um and so I think before we move on the house plants,
I do just want to put out there before everyone gets up in arms because I know this is something your wife Miriam brought up when we were discussing this the other night,
that she said,
well,
what is the potential for the radiation to come from those things that have been irradiated to carry on um into what you were eating?
(27:42):
And so they say,
of course this article is being released by the government.
So it's the government claiming that the government does.
Yeah,
so they say,
although irradiated foods are exposed to radiation,
they do not become radioactive when irradiated with FDA approved sources,
essentially the FDA caps,
(28:03):
how strong the different rays can be.
And so because it is capped at a strength when using that strength,
it doesn't leave any lasting radio activity.
Micro doses,
cobalt is totally cool full dose.
Not not good for human consumption,
but the assumption.
So basically,
(28:24):
if because it's such a small percentage or effectiveness on the plant,
it's not really at risk of being something humans.
It's kind of crazy to think.
But you can expose something to radiation and its genetic makeup can be altered,
(28:44):
but it's still not be radioactive because radio,
the idea of radio activity essentially is the lasting effect.
It's a sense of that unstable nous being uh energy.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So the just the atomic makeup is kind of off,
(29:06):
it's unstable,
It's looking for other things to do.
Um it doesn't have a lasting effect on what is being irradiated.
It's crazy though,
that that was like extending shelf life is not because oh you're modifying this apple to now be a better apple,
but because you're able to stop the couldn't be seen by the naked eye pest that was on there somewhere.
(29:31):
Speca mold that was going to start to take over the plant at some point in its future.
That that is interesting.
It's very interesting.
And so this idea of irradiating food and irradiating irradiating plants has also been used by the government and government funded activities on house plants.
(29:52):
Okay,
and so that brings to the main topic here,
the idea of um pearls and jade.
So I'm sure many of our listeners are familiar with the plant that I'm talking about.
Pearls and jade.
So I have here in my hand uh the the official patent that was submitted for pearls and jade.
(30:16):
So technically uh pearls and jade was the patent was filed under the cultivar name U.
F.
M.
12.
They don't even they don't give the fun commercial name give it a very technical name.
I mean a lot of these laboratories that are patenting plants have hundreds of plants that they're trying to patent just so that they have a stake on the genetic material,
(30:40):
It may never even be a plant that sees the light of day commercially.
So they're not thinking to give it a fun name every single time.
And I mean you'd run out of names eventually if you're doing that enough.
But so this epic premium plant named U f M 12 reads under the description at first.
At first.
(31:00):
Right under description says acknowledgement of federal research support.
This invention was made with government support under F L A S A P 004158 awarded by the Cooperative State Research Education and extensive service USDA.
The government has certain rights in the invention,
interesting.
And so under background of the new plant,
(31:23):
you FM 12 pearls and jade originated by exposing cuttings of EpiPen.
Memoriam cultivar marble queen not patented to gamma ray radiation from a cobalt 60 source at the florida accelerator services and Technology division of Plant Industry florida,
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Gainesville florida.
(31:47):
After treatment,
the cuttings were grown in a controlled environment in Apopka florida.
The inventors selected the new EpiPen um approximately one year later as a single branch mutation within the population of treated plants.
So to put that in layman's terms,
they took a regular marble queen exposed it to gamma rays from a radioactive cobalt 60 which normally cobalt is 59 so radioactive cobalt 60.
(32:17):
And after being exposed to gamma rays marvel queen mutated in such a way to form what you know as unbelievable.
I remember the very first time I ever read this mainly looking up what does because if you don't know if you're looking and trying to identify a plant,
(32:37):
if it does have a patent out there,
those patents are all google able we're all on the internet.
So sometimes if you are and you are dealing with something that is patented and you're trying to find what what what makes them different is one have a larger leaf than the other.
So I've been on this once or twice before but I didn't fully understand the fact that it was in a government partnership as well.
(32:58):
However I will say very convenient for us to have both an engineering department that knows what they're doing with radio activity and other engineering feats of mankind along with being an agricultural school.
Right?
And I mean not everyone can just walk into the florida accelerator services and be like hey I wanna use your gamma ray technology to do some experiments.
(33:20):
Like you know it's not that easy.
So being a yeah being a uh collegiate institution with the exactly gives you access to work with a lot of these things which we talked about on the podcast a little bit off topic but like we can't wait till some of the maybe not gamma ray radiation.
Maybe that's not the right example but things like D.
(33:41):
N.
A.
Sequencing like right now that's still mostly behind the academic or you know large institutions have that technology but we're getting better and better now.
You can buy a microscope that also records 10 ADP video.
It's not the exact same thing but these things will get to a point where consumers and at home hobbyists can start to mess with things again.
(34:03):
Maybe not to that to say though segue to I don't think that particular part of the plant industry is going to be advertised as a can do at home activity anytime soon.
And I mean that brings up a whole slew of various you know,
follow up questions of if to give some background like tissue culture right now tissue culture,
(34:30):
let's say 5 10 years ago was something that was only done by big laboratories.
It requires a really large amount of monetary startup to do it.
It requires a really sterile environment to do these tissue culture um plant production um effectively.
(34:50):
But even just in the past two years we've seen so many more kind of at home in your basement,
in your walk in closet type setups where now you can tissue culture at home if you really wanted to get into it.
Um And so that kind of brings the skepticism of will we get to a point where people are microwaving their own plans and dealing with that.
(35:17):
And so So many questions come up as in like the first question that came to mind is I don't know if you caught it but at the end of that paragraph you read it said this one was selected out of the countless other ones.
So I want to know what didn't get selected and why.
Well,
so there is also another patent that I found for you.
FM 10.
(35:37):
So pearls and jade is U F M 12.
U f M.
10 was also uh memoriam that was uh undergone gamma ray radiation to cobalt 60.
And the one single branch branch mutation was selected out of it.
And it essentially looks like a super super contorted jade pos.
(36:03):
And so there it it would seem that the this type or this level or this amount of gamma ray radiation of specifically cobalt 60 seems to make a more contorted plant,
a more uh tighter growing plant.
The leaves aren't as large.
I mean if you compare pearls and jade to marble queen that it came from,
(36:26):
you can distinctly see the difference.
And and also the this now genetic change that has happened in pearls and jade is stable mostly state.
Which is yeah,
that was a whole other question.
Because wouldn't you think that that would you get an X ray all the time?
(36:46):
You don't walk out living the rest of your life?
You know where others can see you in that form.
You know,
because it doesn't alter you in any way at least that we know of now.
Or or if it does,
there's probably ways that your body,
it's in such small amounts that your body does have time to eventually hopefully Figure out what's wrong.
(37:07):
But clearly this has been,
I mean,
we've known about pearls and jade.
How long has it been on the market?
10 years?
Something like that patent was 2007.
Let's see.
Uh 2009,
Um oh man.
A recession.
Let's get let's get out.
Let's get out the particle accelerator.
(37:28):
But I think it just comes down to the levels and the types of radiation that the planner goes.
And so kind of bringing back to all those those questions I have is if people do start doing this at home,
the idea of how ethical is it and how safe is it?
Because I assume that at the florida accelerator services where they're doing this,
(37:51):
which is a government laboratory,
They are doing everything to protect the environment that they are accelerating these cobalt 60 particles that is safe.
It's probably in some sort of contained area that the only thing being or undergoing the radiation is the plant that's in probably this like tube or something that they're containing it.
(38:15):
And they're behind the thing that every X ray you ever gotten to go behind the so it's the same reason,
you know,
with microwaves,
there's all the coding inside the microwave.
You would never want to run a microwave with the door open because then you're gonna let all the microwaves out.
Um it's,
you know,
our bodies just shouldn't undergo certain types of radiation.
(38:38):
It's not natural.
That's,
it's like literally just,
it is not natural.
That is the point of radio activity.
Is it is,
it's not natural.
It is unstable from how it normally should be.
But on the flip side it is kind of natural to,
because we get tons of gamma rays from the sun.
It's not like humanity created nuclear technology.
(38:58):
We just have figured out a way to harness it in a way that it can be like you're describing strategically applied to this room,
this plant this time.
I mean my mind even goes to next like yeah,
did they do it bare root?
Cause what if you got like a real,
if you haven't forbid had a nematode in that soil.
And then you you pumped it up now you got a super might,
(39:18):
you know,
or something else coming out of the lab.
And I mean,
yeah,
I think only time will tell and only more testing would tell.
But so the story I would say thickens in that one of my uh plant grower friends has told me this was about a year ago that he deals a lot with growers overseas and he imports a lot of plants.
(39:45):
And so he said that he met a grower in Thailand who told him that you could give him whatever plant and he could turn it aurea yellow variegated.
That he had figured out the specific wavelength that was necessary.
That could to flip the switch,
(40:06):
put whatever plant in front of that radiation.
And it would then start growing yellow variegated.
Which a lot of questions because the like the Department of health in Thailand is basically non existent,
they maybe don't have the same laws are the same workplace protocols in place.
(40:27):
That like if these growers are doing this because the plant craze is really,
really crazy right now and they know that they can,
they can flip a plan and make a buck.
Are they doing this safely?
Right.
Well,
I mean on the like on the counter to that,
people have been spray painting plants and doing all kinds of things to plants too.
(40:49):
Make them not what they appear to be.
But if it's,
I don't want to say as simple because clearly neither of us know how to do this.
So it's not that simple.
I can fill pots with dirt,
you know that that's a lot easier.
But or soilless potting medium since I'm on the podcast and I have to have to obey Brett's rules.
Uh but yeah,
(41:10):
it begs the question of how does that does that plant then eventually revert?
Is there even,
you know,
like we started this whole thing on,
you were talking about if you did it to a potato and then you went to your grocery store,
you'd have to say,
hey this these plants have,
you know,
this food has been subjected to this.
Well,
obviously food has a different level of transparency required ever since they put nutritional labels and things on food.
(41:38):
What there is nothing two,
there is nothing in the plant industry to indicate where this variation came from or opens the question with every variegated plant.
Like if we've only ever had a regular goldie,
I philodendron goldie I and then somewhere from overseas,
(42:01):
a yellow variegated philodendron goldie I come from.
We assume that it's tissue culture,
sport mutation or that someone had seeds and one of the seeds came out variegated because that is how we typically assume that variation appears.
But if this technology is out there and there are growers that are starting to utilize this technology,
(42:22):
I think we now also need to be thinking was this plant irradiated.
Um,
and I think whether it is going to revert back or stay stable,
I think it could stay stable.
I mean look at pearls and jade pearls and jade doesn't become marble queen again.
Um but that doesn't mean that or that it's as healthy as a plan because I mean we can grow very,
(42:50):
very healthy pearls and jade,
but it's never going to be marble queens,
leaves will get much larger as it grows vertically.
And I mean,
which is part of how you really like start to and this isn't even because of the gamma ray radiation problem.
But any of the clearly something happened in this plant is behaving far different than the original cultivar in that species most of the time if you can get them to climb vertically or you stress them out with enough of winter and other things that they know,
(43:23):
I'm not saying they revert and all of a sudden become a marble queen again,
but that is normally the breaking point of stretching them because like you said,
it won't go back to being a marble queen.
So it's not just gonna get to eight ft tall and be identical to marble queen and it's likely to have some form of,
wait a second.
We don't understand this part of the genetic code anymore.
(43:44):
I mean Enid at NsC does have a pearls and jade growing up a tree,
I've seen a mature pearls and jade with leaves over two ft long and it's still pearls and jade.
It's still smaller and it's contorted.
Like the it is,
it's not as long.
The leaf margins,
the leaf edges aren't symmetrical.
Like it is,
those leaves are super contorted and weird,
(44:05):
but they're big,
they get big.
Is it ethic?
I mean,
yes,
it's not as healthy as the other plant,
but is it really that unethical?
We pearls and jade,
I don't think is so for listeners,
if you're going to hear this,
I'm not sure if uh Zakhar magician behind the audio is going to be able to fix this.
(44:27):
We do have rain starting.
We are in a metal building.
So you may hear that in the background but we're gonna continue on.
Yeah,
I love it.
Um I don't consider pearls and jade unethical because it was done scientifically in a controlled area.
I just think about these places,
these growers overseas that maybe um I mean just like us like are the plants that we produce our our livelihood.
(44:52):
So if they know that they can mass expose their entire crop to these different radiation technologies are and maybe they are doing it super super correctly.
Maybe they do,
maybe they are being very careful when it comes to public health.
I can't speak on that because I think what we see how they do it but what we're speaking to is just the fact that yeah,
(45:16):
not even to say that it is a bad thing or that they are doing it incorrectly.
But it just brings up the question of,
do we know where this variation came from?
Like just off the bat and not even that it's a bad thing.
We could find out later that aurora veil like that color in a ring of fire was done that way and still be like,
(45:38):
well it's one of the cooler plants I have that are big so you know it doesn't necessarily make or break it to the end consumer but it definitely does begin to question what is a new species.
And if the plant community is going to respond to something being a new species because it was hybridized or bred to be that way or at the minimum,
(46:05):
even if they did subject it to radiation,
that it's been documented that we know that that's how it came about.
And now there may be many variegated plants out there maybe even including from the United States and from the University of florida.
Um,
it wouldn't be the first time that there's been rumors out there of particular cultivars across,
(46:27):
not just house plants,
but many different plants that were given to a trial grower or were given to somebody Because they have to make sure that it's going to be viable.
You know,
before they file the patterns and stuff and maybe they even gave up on it and maybe the university calling back.
Yeah,
it didn't go so well,
Okay.
That's sad to hear.
Well just throw them in the trash can I guess.
And there may be a couple of those floating out there that by now,
(46:50):
what 85 or 82 would have been 50 2040 years ago,
40 years ago.
You know,
that's a long time to not have the written record for that greenhouse to have changed ownership or whatever else.
There may be some of these species that not only what to make come in the future,
but that may already be in the history books that we just don't,
(47:13):
It's very true.
And I think it just comes down to transparency in the house plant market and the house plants where,
I mean,
we do a really,
really,
really amazing job here at Gabriel plants and telling every plant story.
Um,
and you know,
just recording the story and being able to offer that to the consumer so that they know,
(47:34):
I mean literally the day that the plant was planted,
they know,
like we tell them everything,
we can,
we tell them everything we know and more.
But yeah,
there are,
there are a lot of places,
especially when you're doing an import or something from overseas.
Um,
I mean,
or buying here from in state,
I don't want to sound like coming from,
coming for people overseas,
(47:56):
like there just should be a level of transparency that's currently doesn't exist.
And so as a consumer,
you need to be aware of it.
That's kind of what I,
what I'm doing here is not to say don't buy variegated plants from overseas.
I'm just trying to know it's an ethical dilemma that will be potentially something we wrestle with in the future,
(48:20):
which is,
is this variegated plant a sport like you were saying,
or was it artificially induced?
And I think if you rewind before the most recent and this isn't the first variegated plant craze,
but we're in the most recent one.
Currently there's a reason why the majority of the other 30 year span in between these crazes or however much time go by that this is not the priority of most growers.
(48:43):
They're harder to grow their inconsistent compared to the root species.
You know?
So it'll also be interesting to see if consumer demand is more variation,
more variation,
more variation.
Um We may even end up with something that uh it probably does or maybe doesn't in the pearls and jade patent tell you how much like scientifically radiation was administered but what's to say we can't turn it to four times that and go you know and I don't know.
(49:12):
That could also give us something really really cool and something that we haven't been able to do before.
Um But it is interesting,
correct me if I'm wrong,
I joked earlier about that if you had a mic in there when you need it you get this super might every patent I've ever seen that references gamma.
The way you said contorted and smaller that seems to be the general,
(49:33):
it's not like they're plugging their they're putting it in there and then getting a leaf that's twice as big.
The corn is way thicker,
you know right?
And I guess it's to say yeah if you do something unnatural to the plant,
the plant is going to have an unnatural response to it.
Um If you were to give it its vitamins right you'd get a stronger and healthier greener leaf or you know,
(49:57):
larger leaf.
But this is a completely different way to enact plants forever genetically it's changing the plant genetically.
Like that's not just I mean that should not be taken lightly.
Like that is serious.
That is altering the D.
N.
A.
Of the plant and we haven't covered it yet in the podcast but maybe for a future one.
(50:18):
Um I mean they're also using the CRISPR technology and that kind of stuff.
Um But of course that gives a different level of control over what you're doing.
Um You're really going in there and flipping the light switch is you want to use CRISPR technology which is like gene splicing,
you're doing that with a more like fine tuned pinpoint.
(50:39):
You kind of know what you're looking and going in for and looking to change.
Whereas I feel with a lot of these gamma ray um experiments it's kind of a let's put it in there and see what happens.
Yeah let's see let's see what comes out what comes.
That's amazing.
Any other notable ones.
So I have the kind of saving this for the last if the pearls and jade thing hasn't blown your mind then this I think will really shed light on the idea or the potential of radiation on plants.
(51:14):
So if you're not familiar with what I would call a grafted color top cactus.
They're also sometimes called called a moon cactus.
I have one here.
Um Yeah it's a it's a kind of traditional looking cactus stem and then a very nice pumpkin e looking cactus on the top.
(51:34):
So it is a gym,
no calcium is the genus of those brightly colored cactus that's on top and it's grafted onto a dragon fruit.
High low series.
So two different cat when you go to your big box store and you see one of these,
you know at the checkout line and you decide to take it home because it looks super,
(51:56):
super cute.
It is two different cacti.
There you have an arid growing jim.
No calcium grafted onto a empathetic jungle cacti,
completely different types of cacti grafted together.
The question that comes up when looking at this is the grafted color top is grafted together because the colorful cacti that's up top the gym no calcium does not have the ability to photosynthesize.
(52:29):
So it has to be grafted onto the dragon fruit in order to survive.
So the age old question of which came first,
the chicken or the egg is kind of pertains here is how do you have a cacti that ever existed?
If it does not have the ability to photosynthesize if it doesn't have the ability to grow on its own,
(52:51):
How did it ever once grow on its own to be able to be grafted?
And what's weird is I grew up knowing because my dad was obviously a nerd about plants.
Um I grew up knowing that it was grafted.
But even if I didn't know that.
It is interesting like you said,
just off a base observation.
Yeah,
you've never seen just the top part in a nice little pot even though I would 100% by that,
(53:14):
if that was available because if the bright yellow,
bright orange,
bright red or bright pink Cacti was in a pot by itself,
it would die.
It does not have the ability to photosynthesize.
So how did it happen?
I was told this story by longtime grower,
(53:36):
longtime cactus grower at one of the best cacti places I know here in florida and he told me the story that kind of has been passed down.
It's not something that I think has ever been proven hardcore.
Right?
There's no scientific paper that you can find on this,
but this has been passed down.
It's cactus lore,
(53:57):
let's call it cactus.
Your right.
So,
so the story goes In 1945,
World War II is happening and in japan and still to this day,
japan is really,
really big in cacti and succulent breeding um and growing and there are some amazing cacti and succulent growers in japan that have these incredible specimens that they produce like in mass.
(54:30):
So the story goes that shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima,
these cacti growers that survived started to find jim no calcium in their collections that had mutated and we're producing literally bright yellow,
(54:57):
bright orange,
bright red and bright pink cacti that had lost the ability to photosynthesize.
And so them being cacti growers themselves.
Obviously knowing that this was bizarre and crazy wanted to save these plants.
So doing the thing that a normal cacti grower would do,
they grafted it onto something to keep it alive.
(55:18):
And so then essentially all of the grafted color tops that we have now originated from pups of those original mutated plants.
So they're stable enough to grow.
But since they can't grow roots,
they can keep dividing them.
And exactly.
It's basically it's through budding and division pumping.
(55:43):
May have come from the original ones.
Exactly the original ones that developed because of the atomic bomb.
These jim I just want to like put that term,
the gym,
no calcium that you see that are on the graphic color tops originated from nuclear bombs.
(56:06):
That is,
yeah,
that is yeah,
that is mind blowing.
And it also makes me wonder if there are not because we,
not just the United States but plenty of countries when we were trying to figure it out,
we're dropping them all over the place and quite a few of them.
So I wonder if there are more.
I mean a lot of the islands were sometimes even man made just so we could kind of like,
so I don't know how much,
(56:28):
you know,
natural life of vegetation and stuff were on some of the test islands that I'm speaking even after the war obviously ended in stuff.
I wonder if there are other plants that we still don't know exist out there,
I would bet money that there are because a lot of these areas if they're still radioactive now like honorable.
Like you can't go you can't go in there.
So there's nobody going in trying to find these anomalies that have occurred.
(56:53):
Right.
Um So I just,
it makes me chuckle to think of all the people that go to their big box store and purchase one of these things and they don't know,
they don't know the incredible origin story that this plant has.
Yeah.
That's that's impressive.
That is that is really impressive.
(57:13):
And obviously hard to prove if it happened that long ago.
But I can't recall a time where they weren't sold in exactly the configuration that they currently are been around my entire life.
The story makes sense because how else would it have happened?
How else would they be able to get a cactus that can't grow on its own?
Like where did it come from?
(57:34):
So that's incredible.
Well thanks so much for sharing that Brett.
I'm very excited to be able to yeah blow some people's blow up some people's minds.
I see what you did there.
Honestly.
No,
I'm gonna I'm gonna try to do some more research on that too because I'm now I'm just curious if there are any research papers out there of.
(57:56):
Yeah we went to such and such island or you know whatever does and found something else too because I mean they say the scientists who have gone into Chernobyl say that the plant and animal life is actually thriving even though it's still radioactive and some of that I'm sure is just because people aren't anywhere close to it.
So go figure when you let nature do its own thing,
(58:17):
it works pretty well and then mankind comes in and subjects its will.
But no,
that is that is fascinating.
Well,
thanks so much for sharing that Brett that is in impressive.
Um before we get out of here on today's podcast,
I do want to get to those pronunciations,
but is there anything else on this you want to say real quick?
No,
I just think to recap it uh I hope it opened our listeners eyes to a lot of technologies that are kind of out there and being used in the food industry,
(58:48):
but also the house plant industry that you need to consider that you know,
there there are more ways to grow a plant than you may think.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And although you may not have access to a spare X ray machine hanging around,
um definitely something to keep your eye on and see.
I I hope the continued evolution of science being more and more involved in plants just keeps going because this wouldn't be very hard if you can't tell me that if the university of florida obviously knows how to do it.
(59:18):
They could go back and test something.
Most likely they probably do have a way to tell.
Um so it'll be interesting to see what we learn as the decades and as technology continues to move forward,
well before we get out of here,
I know it's raining,
but you had some pronunciations.
So uh a Hoya that we sell um,
is it starts with an N.
(59:40):
Uh,
is pronounced hoya.
Polaroids,
no Polaroids,
no malaria aids.
And so I actually have the etymology of the species Polaroids.
Um,
so I looked this up.
I actually didn't know this one,
but so numb.
Youlus actually stands for money or coin and Lloyd's means like or resembling that of,
(01:00:09):
and so it is called a normal opioids because the leaves resemble that of coins really.
Sometimes it's,
you know,
we can get scared oftentimes by complicated names.
I mean I do it all the time.
You know,
just like I did,
what do you do?
(01:00:30):
I don't know.
English brain go,
what do you do with multiple vowels in a row And it would make sense.
And when you start to look up what the latin means,
even if you don't know latin,
But then you finally do look it up and you're like,
oh,
that makes sense.
Yeah,
data.
Um like,
you know what I mean?
Like these things that are fairly root latin and yeah,
(01:00:50):
if you do hear it like a coin,
you're like,
yeah,
no,
that's pretty good.
They called it being latin for bashful because it was underground.
It was away.
It was bashful I think that's so what,
what a fun way of going about naming plants is basically you're taking some descriptor of the plant and we're making it latin and that's what we're going to call it.
(01:01:13):
And honestly,
let's just be real,
it sounds a lot higher educated than just calling it the Independent Underground because you know what I mean?
Like that just,
it doesn't have,
it is the same meaning.
But yeah,
totally different level of educational value there.
Well Brett it's always amazing getting to do this podcast with you.
(01:01:36):
Thanks so much for being here today and thank you guys so much for listening to this episode of the every plant story podcast.
If you want to watch or listen to more of them,
you can go to every plant story dot com if you want to get yourself a brand new house plant that we know you're gonna love and that we will ship safely from our greenhouse to your house.
You can go to our website at Gabriela plants dot com and with that we'll see you guys next time.
(01:01:59):
Bye.
If you have a question for Shane or the podcast crew,
you can always email them to podcast at Gabriella plants dot com for a chance for your question to be answered in an upcoming podcast episode.
(01:02:23):
Send your questions to podcast at Gabriella plants dot com looking for your next house plan on a budget.
We have one of the widest selections available at Gabriela Plants dot com,
with hundreds of options grown just for you and ready to ship directly from our greenhouse to your house.
you're listening to the every plant story podcast where we collect share and discover the stories,
lessons and passions behind the people who are always growing more.
You're listening to the every plant story podcast and here is your host Shane.
(00:28):
Hey guys,
welcome to season two,
episode nine of every plant story podcast.
Uh This is the podcast.
We share all kinds of plant stories from us here in the life of the plants and all around the plant community.
And I'm so happy to have just as always on the podcast Brett our head grower here for Gabriel,
a plant's Hello everyone.
And for those who don't know,
I'm Shane Malloy and I'm the owner of Gabriella Plants uh third generation in my family to own the business and uh actually kind of cool now that not only were doing this podcast on video,
(00:57):
but we're recording it back at the original location uh that I grew up.
So who would have thought I'd be doing this in my childhood backyard?
I love it.
I love it.
That's awesome how things been in the greenhouse.
Amazing!
I mean,
it's crazy to think that summer is almost over.
I mean where does the time go?
It's hard to even catch people up on everything we've been able to accomplish since the last podcast.
(01:17):
Right?
I mean if the only way I would say is if you're wherever you're listening,
definitely follow us weekly.
I think we do weekly updates.
And when we post every Wednesday at eight p.m. Eastern central time.
That is kind of when we do our big announcements if there are any new products or anything out there.
So yeah it is hard to catch people up if they aren't following long week to week just because there is so much there's so much that we have,
(01:44):
I came over to the greenhouses this morning just to try to lend a hand and I was up early anyway so I it's much cooler in the mornings at the greenhouse.
So um I came over and they were working on picking out all the plants for this week's inventory update and they had already kind of made it through the majority of the list and I was like yeah I'm here to help.
How can I help?
(02:04):
And Hunter kind of showed me what was left to to go and pick out and I was like yeah some of those I'm gonna be honest I couldn't probably pick them out.
I'm I'm struggling to keep up with plants we've seriously added this year.
It's insane.
It's hard to keep up with.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Which is exciting for the consumer.
I mean we always have something new.
(02:25):
We're always growing more but we're not always just growing the same stuff.
Yeah.
And I mean it's also just a living testament to our shipping and our greenhouse teams that can keep them much straighter than I can.
Making sure you get the right plant either and that we're growing each plant the way that they want to be grown in the greenhouse.
Well Brett I know we have all kinds of stuff we did want to get into on today's podcast.
(02:46):
You've been doing lots of research.
You have some handy dandy notes with you.
This is gonna be a really,
really interesting and I think I opening podcast for all of our listeners.
So yeah.
And so at the beginning of every podcast,
before we get into kind of the meat of the topic that we're going to cover,
(03:07):
we do a couple of things at the top.
Um so first I have a botanical term of the day for you.
Alright,
so the term for today is ply kate spelled P L I C A T meaning with parallel folds,
pleaded or corrugated.
And so this term would be used in regards to most palm fronds.
(03:32):
So if you think of a palm leaf,
how it is,
you know,
corrugated and kind of pleated,
folded into each other for structure.
That leaf is a placate leaf.
Now,
is there a reason that we're aware that plants do this?
I always kind of imagined it was when exactly it's it's an evolutionary structural adaptation.
(03:54):
It allows the plants to have larger leaves and be able to support them as well as offering a larger surface area to some leaves that if they weren't placate,
they just wouldn't be as large.
And so I mean a lot of these palms that are placate need to be able to absorb as much sunlight as possible.
(04:17):
And so that's why they've kind of evolved this look interesting now.
What's always crazy when you do see him because I'm glad you mentioned palms as the example because you would also think at least to me,
you know,
I'm thinking of like the um,
the fan that you like,
you flip out and it has all those different,
you know,
sections those sections are typically,
or if you increase a piece of paper back and forth,
(04:39):
that typically is a really weak spot on a piece of paper if you do that enough times.
Yet in the palm trees,
I'm thinking about the top of my head seemingly as has more structure and is more structurally sound.
Absolutely.
And I mean it all comes down to like physiologically anatomically if you look at those folds,
(04:59):
the way that they're structured.
Usually each of those grooves or or those,
those edges are thicker.
Um Really?
Yes.
So they,
the plants,
No plants.
No.
And they figured it out.
Do we have any idea of when it came to be or what was poems like what first started?
I mean placate leaves are seen not just in palms.
(05:21):
Um,
but for a really long time leaves have been shaped this way.
That's awesome.
That's incredible technical term of the day.
Everyone placate trying to use it in an email and stay tuned to the end of the podcast where Brett will also teach me a new pronunciation because I definitely need the help with.
So after that um we like to cover a few new upcoming plants.
(05:46):
Uh so this of course is only good if you are listening to this right away as soon as we really sit.
But uh it certainly is possible even if you listen to this a couple weeks later,
that's something that I could still be on the website.
Um because we're always growing more.
So I am really excited to share a couple upcoming plants that we have.
(06:08):
So this is actually the first time that I'm making this announcement.
I haven't put this on instagram or anything yet.
But so we have been growing philodendron standalone from seed.
Yes and so and by growing them from seed growing a lot.
Yes.
So yeah,
you may think that oh okay we're gonna breed filled engine,
(06:32):
we're gonna set seed,
we're gonna have to,
so we're gonna have to harvest all those seeds and so all of those seeds,
Okay.
Some of these infra contestant seas have like thousands of seeds.
It's a totally different ballgame we're learning than the in theory um which can be far more predictable and reasonable.
Exactly.
And so it wasn't expected.
(06:55):
I'm actually kind of considering this philodendron standalone um like a virgin conception because I didn't pollinate the inflorescence.
I have no recollection of pollinating it.
There was no evidence that I pollinated it.
So either it pollinated itself,
(07:15):
there was a visitor of maybe an insect or who knows?
But so literally we just found these seeds ready to go ready to be harvested.
And so we planted them.
I believe it was june 28th and so they're two months old now.
Um We have our first batch in three inch and so next week we will be able to offer for the first time,
(07:40):
a limited batch of three inch filled engines.
Why are you so excited about this?
I know you've told me,
but I just well one,
it's a really really cool plant.
Um mature specimens like the mama plant that these came from has have leaves that are over four ft long.
I was gonna say the best way you can describe the mama plant is you could take a very cool nap.
(08:05):
Yes.
Yes,
it is a big plant.
It is a really big plant with really big leaves and philodendron is a type.
Um So some people may believe it got reclassified.
Um but because of that they have kind of this like our Bressant like tree like growth habit where they get kind of this real thick trunk that grow up.
(08:26):
And so obviously the baby's still have really small leaves.
But but seeing them compared to their mom is really,
really exciting because as a consumer,
you can get one of these and watch it grow up and I think a lot of us plant people really like that journey.
It's the plant equivalent to when your baby's foot is born or whatever and you're like,
(08:47):
oh,
it used to be like,
yeah,
the size of my thumb or whatever.
Like make the mold in the clay.
Exactly like we have that there's a couple different spots in the greenhouses where my,
my brothers and sisters and I would like,
yeah,
at various sizes as small elementary school kids put our handprints in there and yeah,
then the next time you go to build,
you're like,
oh wow,
I've grown up a little bit.
Yeah,
(09:08):
no,
but that's always cool to get to see,
I mean plants have to do it to animals have to do it too.
And any time that you can,
especially with the plant that,
you know,
in its mature size is going to get that big.
That's the full,
that's the full because you could still grow something from seed but it's just gonna grow a season or you know,
whatever else.
And that's cool.
(09:29):
Not the five year payoff photo of this could cover barely my eye of a speck and now I'm hiding behind the leaf.
You know,
which personal goals?
That's kind of my,
I mean,
I like that,
right?
I that kind of fits your personality if you could just like kind of hideaway under plants.
Yeah.
Any,
(09:50):
any plant I can make a cocoon out of is a,
is a plant I want to grow.
Yes,
it's Shane approved 100%.
No,
I just,
I've always even before the variegated plant craze and stuff like growing up in plants,
especially with,
you know the greenhouses and growing so many small plants.
You know,
growing up it was always,
that was the one really cool thing.
I mean downside.
(10:10):
You had dad who was seeking out and you know,
trying to uh tell you what different plants were.
But that was the cool part about going to botanical gardens are going to other like plant nurseries that were able to grow some of these huge things and then get to hear that.
Yeah,
they're they're spending years,
Oh years,
this one's been there for 20 years.
This one's been in this pot for 10 years and you're like,
oh my goodness gracious plants are definitely like a long term investment like your plan in the long game when it comes to plants,
(10:36):
but it's worth it.
Yeah.
Just cultivating cultivating and growing plants brings me so much joy.
I'm sure it brings our listeners like so much joy.
Absolutely.
Like I said when you can go from that small to that big,
that's like that's an experience that everyone needs to have a satisfying.
It is,
it is very satisfying.
The same as taking two plants that maybe you just have a note or two of and eventually having enough to share it with your friends.
(10:58):
Like yeah,
that is chef's kiss.
Um Well tell me about plant number two.
Okay,
so plan number two is,
so this Diefenbach Kia was really,
really big in the market a couple of years ago and it kind of disappeared.
Um,
but I think that the craze is still out there for it and people don't know where to get it.
And so I am excited to be offering uh,
(11:19):
tonight for the first reflector.
So reflector is a really,
really pretty plant.
It's got a lot of color to it,
a lot of color,
a lot of shine,
a really nice growth habit,
Great for lower light conditions.
I think they make a super cute house plant and another one of those houseplants that's not going to stay this size.
(11:40):
It is now either.
Like if in a larger form you can get some really pretty,
you know,
to go in a corner of a room.
Even definitely once some of ours continue to get bigger and bigger,
I look forward to putting them up and having like,
you know,
three and an eight inch shop will look really nice.
Uh,
growing up,
that was what my grandparents always did not with the Diefenbach specifically or whatever,
(12:04):
but like they always had the spot for the christmas tree and then the large houseplant rated,
they weren't gonna commit,
you know murder to a plant that wasn't supposed to live inside,
but they would have,
it was the same spot either way and it had to be a living thing either way.
Just had,
well,
I guess christmas tree isn't really living once you've chopped it,
but I mean it's surviving a slow,
(12:27):
painful death.
Um,
I have a love hate relationship with that because real big side changes.
But like do you support the plastic thing?
Because I have a very,
I cannot stand plastic plants,
you know that let's,
let's pin that and let's save it for a seasonal episode because I think we could definitely like,
let's bring on a christmas tree farm or something.
(12:47):
That's,
that's a good idea.
Zack wherever you are.
Start finding us a christmas tree farm.
Actually,
those are all probably up north.
Right?
Yeah.
Because I didn't say you probably don't get great growing conditions for those down here.
That's a good question.
Luckily we have a little bit of time before the holiday seasons left.
(13:08):
Um,
well that's awesome.
I love getting here.
I mean,
like you said,
there's so many new plants,
it's amazing.
And honestly there's been so many of these last couple weeks.
I've had to just,
how do you even say this can help me out here?
What is this related to?
Okay,
that makes more sense.
And um,
I think it's an unknown thing even right now,
(13:28):
although we have had a ton of people be able to participate with it,
but not only do you have a ton of material prepared for things like these podcasts,
but you're also going to be,
you have been and will continue to be offering a lot of our botanical classes that we were doing at shop online streamed across the United States,
the world for free.
Um um so definitely go register for those at plants dot L.
(13:50):
Y slash learn.
Um but I always love getting to watch those,
especially the material that you have presented a time or two now because that's how many times it takes me to finally learn how to say some of these words.
So I need the repetition.
So keep it up,
keep it up.
These botanical lecture series that we've been able to produce here are really,
(14:11):
really incredible,
highly educational.
I know I'm biased because I'm teaching them,
but I think that they're pretty fun to watch.
Um and so if you aren't familiar with what we're talking about,
definitely go check that link out that Shane just mentioned.
Um but currently we have three that we produce.
(14:33):
So we have an introduction house plans that everyone tells me pulls me aside after and they're like,
you know,
it's not really like a beginner intro.
It's more like a college level intro.
And so take that as you will.
And then we do an advanced propagation workshop and then we also do an epic fight mounting workshop.
Um I'm working on a four.
(14:55):
It's gonna be specialized plant adaptations,
which is gonna blow everyone out of the water.
I can't wait.
I can't wait.
Super excited.
So definitely go check those out.
Um We do them every month.
Well I know you also came to the podcast today with some new discovery research.
So do you want to lay that?
This one is Okay,
(15:15):
so this isn't the main topic that we're talking about for today.
But this discovery just as of this year,
just as of a couple of months ago this paper was published that the world was told about this new plant that was discovered.
It's a new nepenthes species.
Okay,
(15:39):
so it's native to North Kalimantan which is on the island of Borneo.
So think Indonesia.
And so okay,
so also the botanical,
the species epithet boudicca is latin for bashful.
So the reason that they named this new nepenthes this is because they discovered this nepenthes that grows pitfall traps the pitcher's underground,
(16:11):
what to trap underground in vertebrates and animals.
And so this is the first ever recorded discovery of a carnivorous plant growing and and not just growing as an anomaly but growing purposefully underground to trap underground living things.
(16:37):
So we're there obviously multiple.
Then if they're going as far as to say this is a species,
not like this is one under one leaf locations where this is um prevalent.
Oh man,
I have so many questions like one if you're now underground,
how is it being,
how is it moving?
(16:57):
How is it spreading?
So okay,
so the way that they discovered the plant was they found leaves and stems of this nepenthes above ground that lacked pictures which is abnormal.
So it does still flower above ground.
So they found a plant with flowers and leaves with no pictures.
(17:21):
And they were like this is weird because it should have pictures.
And so they kind of tried to follow that back.
And what they ended up discovering is the plant has these parts that it puts above ground that do produce chlorophyll and photosynthesize and they're green but most of the plant itself is underground and the stems and the leaves are uh they don't have chlorophyll,
(17:51):
they're white.
So it's it's growing the same way that a rhizome or you know any sort of creeping.
And so it pushes through the substrate.
And then once it finds natural cavities in the ground it creates those pictures in that cavity.
(18:13):
So when they went to discover this plant they literally were like digging in the ground.
Found this like hollowed out area and we're pulling out the pictures.
The craziest thing is and it just goes to show how little we know especially on a lot of these places that are so biodiverse Borneo,
Madagascar amazon rainforest basin.
(18:35):
Like a lot of these places.
There's so much life that we have yet to discover that they even found While they were doing this discovery they found a worm that was living inside this brand new nepenthes pitcher plant that is a new species.
Whoa!
Okay now you said that it was also going after invertebrates and and like small like invertebrates like insects and then um small other creatures like worms and they found some nematodes.
(19:08):
And okay so it's not it's not yet fall into a weird leaf trap and get eaten by a weird futuristic version of a carnivorous plant as like a human.
These are still relatively small.
Okay okay so they're not the largest one ever found.
Just the first to be found underground and not just found underground but working underground purposefully growing underground.
(19:33):
And so I highly recommend if anyone is interested you can see photos of this plant,
you can see all the you can see the like location of where they found it.
The list of all the different they said they found like 13 1300 different organisms in the in in five pictures they found 1300 something organisms.
(19:58):
Which is crazy.
So definitely go check it out.
Google nepenthes Patika.
Brand new discovery.
And I highly recommend reading the scientific paper yourself.
Alright so I have one last question about that and obviously I have not done as you just said to go research the photos.
I haven't seen the photo yet.
But does it talk about its orientation?
Like in how it was because like part of how you've explained to pin these to me at least the normal picture ones is like they have the coating on the side of the picture so that things fall down it so like is gravity working against it being located underground?
(20:34):
Well,
it seemed that the underground stem was growing like horizontally through the ground,
like a rye zone.
But the pictures themselves in the cavities were oriented kind of all different ways and I think because you're underground,
you're not relying on something necessarily falling into it as you are just hoping something eventually crawls into.
(20:59):
Get curious enough starts going in,
but then can't crawl out exactly because I mean underground,
all those insects and everything,
they're constantly zigzagging moving through tunnels.
So it's basically like,
oh,
they found this giant roomy tunnel go into it and there's no exit.
And so then they get stuck in it.
That's amazing.
So are so cool.
(21:19):
Alright.
So what are we talking about on the bulk of today's podcast?
Alright,
so the meat of this podcast is going to be on and this is a big one.
Everyone.
Radio activity and the effects of radiation on plants.
Alright,
I am in on this.
So,
we just need to give us some nuclear power.
(21:43):
Yeah,
nuclear power can do it.
All right.
Um,
but other people have been doing it in different ways.
And so if you've never heard anything as a listener,
if you've never thought about radiation and plants before,
this is not something that we Gabriel plants are coming up with.
(22:06):
This is something that exactly is not new.
And this is actually something that has been used by various government agencies for awhile actually.
Umm not just on house plants but on various food crops in general.
Yeah.
So I have a couple of different articles here.
(22:27):
Um And so one of them let me just so when it comes to radiating food or plants the term is called irradiation.
So the plants are irradiated.
So all irradiation done through the government is done through the U.
(22:49):
S.
Food and Drug Administration.
So they permit three different types of ionizing radiation to be used on foods.
Gamma rays from radioactive cobalt 60 or cesium 1 37 high energy electrons and X rays.
Okay and so believe it or not british and american patents were awarded in 1905 to people who brought up the idea of ionizing radiation to preserve food.
(23:24):
Okay so reserved I was gonna ask.
So what why number one?
Because I know there have been some plants.
It may be the first time um Some of folks may be hearing this but I know that we've been messing around um with plants from a cosmetic sense.
But you're saying for preservation of the food.
So the the way that this type of a radiation can be used on food products is a method of sterilization um as well as controlling or inhibiting growth on some things.
(23:59):
Um So actually uh like low dose of radiation to control insects in some foods and extend the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables.
So they say a radiation is a process by which products are exposed to ionizing radiation to achieve a variety of effects in foods,
(24:20):
radiation sterilizes or kills insects or microbial pests by damaging their genetic material.
Irradiation also slows ripening and sprouting in fresh fruits and vegetables by interfering with cell division.
So even though the U.
S.
(24:40):
D.
A.
Has approved all of these different methods,
basically it's on potatoes and onions and wheat and various things.
They say the only foods treated for commercial use in the United States are just small amounts of spices.
So even though they've approved these other methods,
(25:00):
they're not actively using them for commercial foods.
So they say okay,
but it is approved.
So hypothetically if I don't run out of soap to wash my potatoes and I happen to have an X ray machine laying around in my garage and said,
(25:21):
well I guess it's gonna have to do,
you can do it.
All right,
government.
That's when did they do that?
So the the last ones were actually approved 85 86.
Um So they do say that the only foods treated for commercial use in the United States are small amounts of spices,
less than 5% of spices in the United States are irradiated and they're used in processed foods.
(25:46):
But all of those irradiated spices as long as they're used as ingredients in something and not sold just loose as is it is not required to be disclosed on the retail label that those spices were irradiated interest.
So if I did have an X ray machine in my backyard,
I still have to put a layer table on the front of my corn or whatever and say this was clean by.
(26:12):
Alright,
well at least I'm glad for some level of transparency required here.
Um Why exactly did they propose this or approve this?
Who was asking them?
I think with a lot of scientific research and discovery and grants and funding,
it's just that it could be done Exactly.
(26:33):
They're just looking to see how can it be used potentially maybe one day in the future to do something.
Now.
I know they do a lot of things to preserve food.
They'll they'll coat it with some wax and different things.
And so this article,
I mean I'm only giving a,
you know,
a couple of snippets from this like 47 page article that was put out um by by the FDA.
Uh but the article basically goes over that it could be used for all these things,
(26:58):
but it currently isn't being used essentially boils down to cost it's super expensive to irradiate all these foods when we have other chemical or synthetic ways to do the same process.
Right?
And your doctor can't treat you nearly as much for an X ray if you find out that every carrot you've ever eaten has gone through an extra.
That is a great point.
(27:18):
That is a great point.
Um and so I think before we move on the house plants,
I do just want to put out there before everyone gets up in arms because I know this is something your wife Miriam brought up when we were discussing this the other night,
that she said,
well,
what is the potential for the radiation to come from those things that have been irradiated to carry on um into what you were eating?
(27:42):
And so they say,
of course this article is being released by the government.
So it's the government claiming that the government does.
Yeah,
so they say,
although irradiated foods are exposed to radiation,
they do not become radioactive when irradiated with FDA approved sources,
essentially the FDA caps,
(28:03):
how strong the different rays can be.
And so because it is capped at a strength when using that strength,
it doesn't leave any lasting radio activity.
Micro doses,
cobalt is totally cool full dose.
Not not good for human consumption,
but the assumption.
So basically,
(28:24):
if because it's such a small percentage or effectiveness on the plant,
it's not really at risk of being something humans.
It's kind of crazy to think.
But you can expose something to radiation and its genetic makeup can be altered,
(28:44):
but it's still not be radioactive because radio,
the idea of radio activity essentially is the lasting effect.
It's a sense of that unstable nous being uh energy.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So the just the atomic makeup is kind of off,
(29:06):
it's unstable,
It's looking for other things to do.
Um it doesn't have a lasting effect on what is being irradiated.
It's crazy though,
that that was like extending shelf life is not because oh you're modifying this apple to now be a better apple,
but because you're able to stop the couldn't be seen by the naked eye pest that was on there somewhere.
(29:31):
Speca mold that was going to start to take over the plant at some point in its future.
That that is interesting.
It's very interesting.
And so this idea of irradiating food and irradiating irradiating plants has also been used by the government and government funded activities on house plants.
(29:52):
Okay,
and so that brings to the main topic here,
the idea of um pearls and jade.
So I'm sure many of our listeners are familiar with the plant that I'm talking about.
Pearls and jade.
So I have here in my hand uh the the official patent that was submitted for pearls and jade.
(30:16):
So technically uh pearls and jade was the patent was filed under the cultivar name U.
F.
M.
12.
They don't even they don't give the fun commercial name give it a very technical name.
I mean a lot of these laboratories that are patenting plants have hundreds of plants that they're trying to patent just so that they have a stake on the genetic material,
(30:40):
It may never even be a plant that sees the light of day commercially.
So they're not thinking to give it a fun name every single time.
And I mean you'd run out of names eventually if you're doing that enough.
But so this epic premium plant named U f M 12 reads under the description at first.
At first.
(31:00):
Right under description says acknowledgement of federal research support.
This invention was made with government support under F L A S A P 004158 awarded by the Cooperative State Research Education and extensive service USDA.
The government has certain rights in the invention,
interesting.
And so under background of the new plant,
(31:23):
you FM 12 pearls and jade originated by exposing cuttings of EpiPen.
Memoriam cultivar marble queen not patented to gamma ray radiation from a cobalt 60 source at the florida accelerator services and Technology division of Plant Industry florida,
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Gainesville florida.
(31:47):
After treatment,
the cuttings were grown in a controlled environment in Apopka florida.
The inventors selected the new EpiPen um approximately one year later as a single branch mutation within the population of treated plants.
So to put that in layman's terms,
they took a regular marble queen exposed it to gamma rays from a radioactive cobalt 60 which normally cobalt is 59 so radioactive cobalt 60.
(32:17):
And after being exposed to gamma rays marvel queen mutated in such a way to form what you know as unbelievable.
I remember the very first time I ever read this mainly looking up what does because if you don't know if you're looking and trying to identify a plant,
(32:37):
if it does have a patent out there,
those patents are all google able we're all on the internet.
So sometimes if you are and you are dealing with something that is patented and you're trying to find what what what makes them different is one have a larger leaf than the other.
So I've been on this once or twice before but I didn't fully understand the fact that it was in a government partnership as well.
(32:58):
However I will say very convenient for us to have both an engineering department that knows what they're doing with radio activity and other engineering feats of mankind along with being an agricultural school.
Right?
And I mean not everyone can just walk into the florida accelerator services and be like hey I wanna use your gamma ray technology to do some experiments.
(33:20):
Like you know it's not that easy.
So being a yeah being a uh collegiate institution with the exactly gives you access to work with a lot of these things which we talked about on the podcast a little bit off topic but like we can't wait till some of the maybe not gamma ray radiation.
Maybe that's not the right example but things like D.
(33:41):
N.
A.
Sequencing like right now that's still mostly behind the academic or you know large institutions have that technology but we're getting better and better now.
You can buy a microscope that also records 10 ADP video.
It's not the exact same thing but these things will get to a point where consumers and at home hobbyists can start to mess with things again.
(34:03):
Maybe not to that to say though segue to I don't think that particular part of the plant industry is going to be advertised as a can do at home activity anytime soon.
And I mean that brings up a whole slew of various you know,
follow up questions of if to give some background like tissue culture right now tissue culture,
(34:30):
let's say 5 10 years ago was something that was only done by big laboratories.
It requires a really large amount of monetary startup to do it.
It requires a really sterile environment to do these tissue culture um plant production um effectively.
(34:50):
But even just in the past two years we've seen so many more kind of at home in your basement,
in your walk in closet type setups where now you can tissue culture at home if you really wanted to get into it.
Um And so that kind of brings the skepticism of will we get to a point where people are microwaving their own plans and dealing with that.
(35:17):
And so So many questions come up as in like the first question that came to mind is I don't know if you caught it but at the end of that paragraph you read it said this one was selected out of the countless other ones.
So I want to know what didn't get selected and why.
Well,
so there is also another patent that I found for you.
FM 10.
(35:37):
So pearls and jade is U F M 12.
U f M.
10 was also uh memoriam that was uh undergone gamma ray radiation to cobalt 60.
And the one single branch branch mutation was selected out of it.
And it essentially looks like a super super contorted jade pos.
(36:03):
And so there it it would seem that the this type or this level or this amount of gamma ray radiation of specifically cobalt 60 seems to make a more contorted plant,
a more uh tighter growing plant.
The leaves aren't as large.
I mean if you compare pearls and jade to marble queen that it came from,
(36:26):
you can distinctly see the difference.
And and also the this now genetic change that has happened in pearls and jade is stable mostly state.
Which is yeah,
that was a whole other question.
Because wouldn't you think that that would you get an X ray all the time?
(36:46):
You don't walk out living the rest of your life?
You know where others can see you in that form.
You know,
because it doesn't alter you in any way at least that we know of now.
Or or if it does,
there's probably ways that your body,
it's in such small amounts that your body does have time to eventually hopefully Figure out what's wrong.
(37:07):
But clearly this has been,
I mean,
we've known about pearls and jade.
How long has it been on the market?
10 years?
Something like that patent was 2007.
Let's see.
Uh 2009,
Um oh man.
A recession.
Let's get let's get out.
Let's get out the particle accelerator.
(37:28):
But I think it just comes down to the levels and the types of radiation that the planner goes.
And so kind of bringing back to all those those questions I have is if people do start doing this at home,
the idea of how ethical is it and how safe is it?
Because I assume that at the florida accelerator services where they're doing this,
(37:51):
which is a government laboratory,
They are doing everything to protect the environment that they are accelerating these cobalt 60 particles that is safe.
It's probably in some sort of contained area that the only thing being or undergoing the radiation is the plant that's in probably this like tube or something that they're containing it.
(38:15):
And they're behind the thing that every X ray you ever gotten to go behind the so it's the same reason,
you know,
with microwaves,
there's all the coding inside the microwave.
You would never want to run a microwave with the door open because then you're gonna let all the microwaves out.
Um it's,
you know,
our bodies just shouldn't undergo certain types of radiation.
(38:38):
It's not natural.
That's,
it's like literally just,
it is not natural.
That is the point of radio activity.
Is it is,
it's not natural.
It is unstable from how it normally should be.
But on the flip side it is kind of natural to,
because we get tons of gamma rays from the sun.
It's not like humanity created nuclear technology.
(38:58):
We just have figured out a way to harness it in a way that it can be like you're describing strategically applied to this room,
this plant this time.
I mean my mind even goes to next like yeah,
did they do it bare root?
Cause what if you got like a real,
if you haven't forbid had a nematode in that soil.
And then you you pumped it up now you got a super might,
(39:18):
you know,
or something else coming out of the lab.
And I mean,
yeah,
I think only time will tell and only more testing would tell.
But so the story I would say thickens in that one of my uh plant grower friends has told me this was about a year ago that he deals a lot with growers overseas and he imports a lot of plants.
(39:45):
And so he said that he met a grower in Thailand who told him that you could give him whatever plant and he could turn it aurea yellow variegated.
That he had figured out the specific wavelength that was necessary.
That could to flip the switch,
(40:06):
put whatever plant in front of that radiation.
And it would then start growing yellow variegated.
Which a lot of questions because the like the Department of health in Thailand is basically non existent,
they maybe don't have the same laws are the same workplace protocols in place.
(40:27):
That like if these growers are doing this because the plant craze is really,
really crazy right now and they know that they can,
they can flip a plan and make a buck.
Are they doing this safely?
Right.
Well,
I mean on the like on the counter to that,
people have been spray painting plants and doing all kinds of things to plants too.
(40:49):
Make them not what they appear to be.
But if it's,
I don't want to say as simple because clearly neither of us know how to do this.
So it's not that simple.
I can fill pots with dirt,
you know that that's a lot easier.
But or soilless potting medium since I'm on the podcast and I have to have to obey Brett's rules.
Uh but yeah,
(41:10):
it begs the question of how does that does that plant then eventually revert?
Is there even,
you know,
like we started this whole thing on,
you were talking about if you did it to a potato and then you went to your grocery store,
you'd have to say,
hey this these plants have,
you know,
this food has been subjected to this.
Well,
obviously food has a different level of transparency required ever since they put nutritional labels and things on food.
(41:38):
What there is nothing two,
there is nothing in the plant industry to indicate where this variation came from or opens the question with every variegated plant.
Like if we've only ever had a regular goldie,
I philodendron goldie I and then somewhere from overseas,
(42:01):
a yellow variegated philodendron goldie I come from.
We assume that it's tissue culture,
sport mutation or that someone had seeds and one of the seeds came out variegated because that is how we typically assume that variation appears.
But if this technology is out there and there are growers that are starting to utilize this technology,
(42:22):
I think we now also need to be thinking was this plant irradiated.
Um,
and I think whether it is going to revert back or stay stable,
I think it could stay stable.
I mean look at pearls and jade pearls and jade doesn't become marble queen again.
Um but that doesn't mean that or that it's as healthy as a plan because I mean we can grow very,
(42:50):
very healthy pearls and jade,
but it's never going to be marble queens,
leaves will get much larger as it grows vertically.
And I mean,
which is part of how you really like start to and this isn't even because of the gamma ray radiation problem.
But any of the clearly something happened in this plant is behaving far different than the original cultivar in that species most of the time if you can get them to climb vertically or you stress them out with enough of winter and other things that they know,
(43:23):
I'm not saying they revert and all of a sudden become a marble queen again,
but that is normally the breaking point of stretching them because like you said,
it won't go back to being a marble queen.
So it's not just gonna get to eight ft tall and be identical to marble queen and it's likely to have some form of,
wait a second.
We don't understand this part of the genetic code anymore.
(43:44):
I mean Enid at NsC does have a pearls and jade growing up a tree,
I've seen a mature pearls and jade with leaves over two ft long and it's still pearls and jade.
It's still smaller and it's contorted.
Like the it is,
it's not as long.
The leaf margins,
the leaf edges aren't symmetrical.
Like it is,
those leaves are super contorted and weird,
(44:05):
but they're big,
they get big.
Is it ethic?
I mean,
yes,
it's not as healthy as the other plant,
but is it really that unethical?
We pearls and jade,
I don't think is so for listeners,
if you're going to hear this,
I'm not sure if uh Zakhar magician behind the audio is going to be able to fix this.
(44:27):
We do have rain starting.
We are in a metal building.
So you may hear that in the background but we're gonna continue on.
Yeah,
I love it.
Um I don't consider pearls and jade unethical because it was done scientifically in a controlled area.
I just think about these places,
these growers overseas that maybe um I mean just like us like are the plants that we produce our our livelihood.
(44:52):
So if they know that they can mass expose their entire crop to these different radiation technologies are and maybe they are doing it super super correctly.
Maybe they do,
maybe they are being very careful when it comes to public health.
I can't speak on that because I think what we see how they do it but what we're speaking to is just the fact that yeah,
(45:16):
not even to say that it is a bad thing or that they are doing it incorrectly.
But it just brings up the question of,
do we know where this variation came from?
Like just off the bat and not even that it's a bad thing.
We could find out later that aurora veil like that color in a ring of fire was done that way and still be like,
(45:38):
well it's one of the cooler plants I have that are big so you know it doesn't necessarily make or break it to the end consumer but it definitely does begin to question what is a new species.
And if the plant community is going to respond to something being a new species because it was hybridized or bred to be that way or at the minimum,
(46:05):
even if they did subject it to radiation,
that it's been documented that we know that that's how it came about.
And now there may be many variegated plants out there maybe even including from the United States and from the University of florida.
Um,
it wouldn't be the first time that there's been rumors out there of particular cultivars across,
(46:27):
not just house plants,
but many different plants that were given to a trial grower or were given to somebody Because they have to make sure that it's going to be viable.
You know,
before they file the patterns and stuff and maybe they even gave up on it and maybe the university calling back.
Yeah,
it didn't go so well,
Okay.
That's sad to hear.
Well just throw them in the trash can I guess.
And there may be a couple of those floating out there that by now,
(46:50):
what 85 or 82 would have been 50 2040 years ago,
40 years ago.
You know,
that's a long time to not have the written record for that greenhouse to have changed ownership or whatever else.
There may be some of these species that not only what to make come in the future,
but that may already be in the history books that we just don't,
(47:13):
It's very true.
And I think it just comes down to transparency in the house plant market and the house plants where,
I mean,
we do a really,
really,
really amazing job here at Gabriel plants and telling every plant story.
Um,
and you know,
just recording the story and being able to offer that to the consumer so that they know,
(47:34):
I mean literally the day that the plant was planted,
they know,
like we tell them everything,
we can,
we tell them everything we know and more.
But yeah,
there are,
there are a lot of places,
especially when you're doing an import or something from overseas.
Um,
I mean,
or buying here from in state,
I don't want to sound like coming from,
coming for people overseas,
(47:56):
like there just should be a level of transparency that's currently doesn't exist.
And so as a consumer,
you need to be aware of it.
That's kind of what I,
what I'm doing here is not to say don't buy variegated plants from overseas.
I'm just trying to know it's an ethical dilemma that will be potentially something we wrestle with in the future,
(48:20):
which is,
is this variegated plant a sport like you were saying,
or was it artificially induced?
And I think if you rewind before the most recent and this isn't the first variegated plant craze,
but we're in the most recent one.
Currently there's a reason why the majority of the other 30 year span in between these crazes or however much time go by that this is not the priority of most growers.
(48:43):
They're harder to grow their inconsistent compared to the root species.
You know?
So it'll also be interesting to see if consumer demand is more variation,
more variation,
more variation.
Um We may even end up with something that uh it probably does or maybe doesn't in the pearls and jade patent tell you how much like scientifically radiation was administered but what's to say we can't turn it to four times that and go you know and I don't know.
(49:12):
That could also give us something really really cool and something that we haven't been able to do before.
Um But it is interesting,
correct me if I'm wrong,
I joked earlier about that if you had a mic in there when you need it you get this super might every patent I've ever seen that references gamma.
The way you said contorted and smaller that seems to be the general,
(49:33):
it's not like they're plugging their they're putting it in there and then getting a leaf that's twice as big.
The corn is way thicker,
you know right?
And I guess it's to say yeah if you do something unnatural to the plant,
the plant is going to have an unnatural response to it.
Um If you were to give it its vitamins right you'd get a stronger and healthier greener leaf or you know,
(49:57):
larger leaf.
But this is a completely different way to enact plants forever genetically it's changing the plant genetically.
Like that's not just I mean that should not be taken lightly.
Like that is serious.
That is altering the D.
N.
A.
Of the plant and we haven't covered it yet in the podcast but maybe for a future one.
(50:18):
Um I mean they're also using the CRISPR technology and that kind of stuff.
Um But of course that gives a different level of control over what you're doing.
Um You're really going in there and flipping the light switch is you want to use CRISPR technology which is like gene splicing,
you're doing that with a more like fine tuned pinpoint.
(50:39):
You kind of know what you're looking and going in for and looking to change.
Whereas I feel with a lot of these gamma ray um experiments it's kind of a let's put it in there and see what happens.
Yeah let's see let's see what comes out what comes.
That's amazing.
Any other notable ones.
So I have the kind of saving this for the last if the pearls and jade thing hasn't blown your mind then this I think will really shed light on the idea or the potential of radiation on plants.
(51:14):
So if you're not familiar with what I would call a grafted color top cactus.
They're also sometimes called called a moon cactus.
I have one here.
Um Yeah it's a it's a kind of traditional looking cactus stem and then a very nice pumpkin e looking cactus on the top.
(51:34):
So it is a gym,
no calcium is the genus of those brightly colored cactus that's on top and it's grafted onto a dragon fruit.
High low series.
So two different cat when you go to your big box store and you see one of these,
you know at the checkout line and you decide to take it home because it looks super,
(51:56):
super cute.
It is two different cacti.
There you have an arid growing jim.
No calcium grafted onto a empathetic jungle cacti,
completely different types of cacti grafted together.
The question that comes up when looking at this is the grafted color top is grafted together because the colorful cacti that's up top the gym no calcium does not have the ability to photosynthesize.
(52:29):
So it has to be grafted onto the dragon fruit in order to survive.
So the age old question of which came first,
the chicken or the egg is kind of pertains here is how do you have a cacti that ever existed?
If it does not have the ability to photosynthesize if it doesn't have the ability to grow on its own,
(52:51):
How did it ever once grow on its own to be able to be grafted?
And what's weird is I grew up knowing because my dad was obviously a nerd about plants.
Um I grew up knowing that it was grafted.
But even if I didn't know that.
It is interesting like you said,
just off a base observation.
Yeah,
you've never seen just the top part in a nice little pot even though I would 100% by that,
(53:14):
if that was available because if the bright yellow,
bright orange,
bright red or bright pink Cacti was in a pot by itself,
it would die.
It does not have the ability to photosynthesize.
So how did it happen?
I was told this story by longtime grower,
(53:36):
longtime cactus grower at one of the best cacti places I know here in florida and he told me the story that kind of has been passed down.
It's not something that I think has ever been proven hardcore.
Right?
There's no scientific paper that you can find on this,
but this has been passed down.
It's cactus lore,
(53:57):
let's call it cactus.
Your right.
So,
so the story goes In 1945,
World War II is happening and in japan and still to this day,
japan is really,
really big in cacti and succulent breeding um and growing and there are some amazing cacti and succulent growers in japan that have these incredible specimens that they produce like in mass.
(54:30):
So the story goes that shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima,
these cacti growers that survived started to find jim no calcium in their collections that had mutated and we're producing literally bright yellow,
(54:57):
bright orange,
bright red and bright pink cacti that had lost the ability to photosynthesize.
And so them being cacti growers themselves.
Obviously knowing that this was bizarre and crazy wanted to save these plants.
So doing the thing that a normal cacti grower would do,
they grafted it onto something to keep it alive.
(55:18):
And so then essentially all of the grafted color tops that we have now originated from pups of those original mutated plants.
So they're stable enough to grow.
But since they can't grow roots,
they can keep dividing them.
And exactly.
It's basically it's through budding and division pumping.
(55:43):
May have come from the original ones.
Exactly the original ones that developed because of the atomic bomb.
These jim I just want to like put that term,
the gym,
no calcium that you see that are on the graphic color tops originated from nuclear bombs.
(56:06):
That is,
yeah,
that is yeah,
that is mind blowing.
And it also makes me wonder if there are not because we,
not just the United States but plenty of countries when we were trying to figure it out,
we're dropping them all over the place and quite a few of them.
So I wonder if there are more.
I mean a lot of the islands were sometimes even man made just so we could kind of like,
so I don't know how much,
(56:28):
you know,
natural life of vegetation and stuff were on some of the test islands that I'm speaking even after the war obviously ended in stuff.
I wonder if there are other plants that we still don't know exist out there,
I would bet money that there are because a lot of these areas if they're still radioactive now like honorable.
Like you can't go you can't go in there.
So there's nobody going in trying to find these anomalies that have occurred.
(56:53):
Right.
Um So I just,
it makes me chuckle to think of all the people that go to their big box store and purchase one of these things and they don't know,
they don't know the incredible origin story that this plant has.
Yeah.
That's that's impressive.
That is that is really impressive.
(57:13):
And obviously hard to prove if it happened that long ago.
But I can't recall a time where they weren't sold in exactly the configuration that they currently are been around my entire life.
The story makes sense because how else would it have happened?
How else would they be able to get a cactus that can't grow on its own?
Like where did it come from?
(57:34):
So that's incredible.
Well thanks so much for sharing that Brett.
I'm very excited to be able to yeah blow some people's blow up some people's minds.
I see what you did there.
Honestly.
No,
I'm gonna I'm gonna try to do some more research on that too because I'm now I'm just curious if there are any research papers out there of.
(57:56):
Yeah we went to such and such island or you know whatever does and found something else too because I mean they say the scientists who have gone into Chernobyl say that the plant and animal life is actually thriving even though it's still radioactive and some of that I'm sure is just because people aren't anywhere close to it.
So go figure when you let nature do its own thing,
(58:17):
it works pretty well and then mankind comes in and subjects its will.
But no,
that is that is fascinating.
Well,
thanks so much for sharing that Brett that is in impressive.
Um before we get out of here on today's podcast,
I do want to get to those pronunciations,
but is there anything else on this you want to say real quick?
No,
I just think to recap it uh I hope it opened our listeners eyes to a lot of technologies that are kind of out there and being used in the food industry,
(58:48):
but also the house plant industry that you need to consider that you know,
there there are more ways to grow a plant than you may think.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And although you may not have access to a spare X ray machine hanging around,
um definitely something to keep your eye on and see.
I I hope the continued evolution of science being more and more involved in plants just keeps going because this wouldn't be very hard if you can't tell me that if the university of florida obviously knows how to do it.
(59:18):
They could go back and test something.
Most likely they probably do have a way to tell.
Um so it'll be interesting to see what we learn as the decades and as technology continues to move forward,
well before we get out of here,
I know it's raining,
but you had some pronunciations.
So uh a Hoya that we sell um,
is it starts with an N.
(59:40):
Uh,
is pronounced hoya.
Polaroids,
no Polaroids,
no malaria aids.
And so I actually have the etymology of the species Polaroids.
Um,
so I looked this up.
I actually didn't know this one,
but so numb.
Youlus actually stands for money or coin and Lloyd's means like or resembling that of,
(01:00:09):
and so it is called a normal opioids because the leaves resemble that of coins really.
Sometimes it's,
you know,
we can get scared oftentimes by complicated names.
I mean I do it all the time.
You know,
just like I did,
what do you do?
(01:00:30):
I don't know.
English brain go,
what do you do with multiple vowels in a row And it would make sense.
And when you start to look up what the latin means,
even if you don't know latin,
But then you finally do look it up and you're like,
oh,
that makes sense.
Yeah,
data.
Um like,
you know what I mean?
Like these things that are fairly root latin and yeah,
(01:00:50):
if you do hear it like a coin,
you're like,
yeah,
no,
that's pretty good.
They called it being latin for bashful because it was underground.
It was away.
It was bashful I think that's so what,
what a fun way of going about naming plants is basically you're taking some descriptor of the plant and we're making it latin and that's what we're going to call it.
(01:01:13):
And honestly,
let's just be real,
it sounds a lot higher educated than just calling it the Independent Underground because you know what I mean?
Like that just,
it doesn't have,
it is the same meaning.
But yeah,
totally different level of educational value there.
Well Brett it's always amazing getting to do this podcast with you.
(01:01:36):
Thanks so much for being here today and thank you guys so much for listening to this episode of the every plant story podcast.
If you want to watch or listen to more of them,
you can go to every plant story dot com if you want to get yourself a brand new house plant that we know you're gonna love and that we will ship safely from our greenhouse to your house.
You can go to our website at Gabriela plants dot com and with that we'll see you guys next time.
(01:01:59):
Bye.
If you have a question for Shane or the podcast crew,
you can always email them to podcast at Gabriella plants dot com for a chance for your question to be answered in an upcoming podcast episode.
(01:02:23):
Send your questions to podcast at Gabriella plants dot com looking for your next house plan on a budget.
We have one of the widest selections available at Gabriela Plants dot com,
with hundreds of options grown just for you and ready to ship directly from our greenhouse to your house.
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