When will they grow old...

From: flo.s at t-online.de (flo.s) on 2000.05.30 at 22:20:11(4652) Hi there, I was a reader until now, but lately a question came into my mind, which somebody here might have answers for. Most of the Amorphophallus individuals exchanged among the enthusiasts are "children" bulbs generated by "parents" year after year. Those bulbs can be considered just as a "branch" of the parent plant and thus might be considered as a part of an unknown aged plant. To keep control over all the branches some of you are tracking the clones. To use the thought above, if Amorphophallus was +More a tree, each clone would be one tree. Does anyone know the age of the clones? When will these clones grow old and die? Will only the parent become weak and die or also its branches if the time has come? Has anybody experiences with this? Best regards, Florian Sanwald Munich, Germany

From: Durightmm at aol.com on 2000.06.01 at 02:54:40(4664) Unless the plant has been grown from seed it's age will be uncertain. The longevity of the parent, assuming normal genetic makeup, will have little bearing on the offspring. If you are alluding to juvinile vigor then you are right that older plants lack branching characteristics often found in young plants. The fate of the offspring is independent of it's parent. Untill telemere measurements are made the assumption is that the cormlets will function as seedlings. +More John Banta

From: "Bonaventure W Magrys" magrysbo at shu.edu> on 2000.06.03 at 01:52:53(4677) Do plant telomeres behave like animal ones, growing shorter with age? I always assumed that, except for structural problems as in old trees or programmed death as in annuals, plants can go on growing forever. But then Aroids always seemed a little animal-like to me. Bonaventure Magrys +More BS Molecular Biology '86 Durightmm@aol.com on 05/31/2000 10:54:45 PM Please respond to aroid-l@mobot.org To: Multiple recipients of list AROID-L cc: (bcc: Bonaventure W Magrys/ADM/SHU) Subject: IN TRASH - Re: When will they grow old... Unless the plant has been grown from seed it's age will be uncertain. The longevity of the parent, assuming normal genetic makeup, will have little bearing on the offspring. If you are alluding to juvinile vigor then you are right that older plants lack branching characteristics often found in young plants. The fate of the offspring is independent of it's parent. Untill telemere measurements are made the assumption is that the cormlets will function as seedlings. John Banta

Note: this is a very old post, so no reply function is available.