Re: Evolution: Plants The sixth sense

From: "julius boos" ju-bo at msn.com> on 2002.02.02 at 16:23:15(8133) > The explination is that these chance differences are chosen out, not in > thousands of years but over billions of years. Many, Many trial and error > scenarios may occur over such a time period. +More >>billions? all you need are thousands of years. the speciation of haplochromine cichlids in lake victoria (from one species to over 300 species) took just a few thousand years. a blink of an eye in biological time. tsuh yang<< Even more rapid is what I refer to as the 'vegetative evoloution' in aroids! Buy a plant of Xanthosma atrovirens (the one with the little 'frills' on the underside of the leaf blade) and watch it happen before your very eyes from one 'pup' to the next. Taro (Colocasia esculanta) is another 'quicke'---- the Hawaiians produced over 200 cultivars which are VERY different one to the other in just a few thousand years, and if we did not know better may/could be described as different 'species' by the unknowing, and by vegetative selection!! A VERY short 'blink' indeed. Julius

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