Re: [Aroid-l] Thorns on Aroids

From: "Elizabeth Campbell" <desinadora at mail2designer.com> on 2009.02.24 at 00:31:52 Dear All: Here's my two cents - a whole lot more plants than just the Aroids have thorns in our neotropical forests here in Ecuador, and usually it's to defend themselves from other plants. The spines on many of the other plants and trees are there to discourage competition from growing over them - for example, Ceiba pentandra has spines until about its 100th year to discourage colonisation by Philodendrons! (They're often the only smoothly empty plants in the forest, which makes them very easy to spot....) So any of the free-standing or vining aroids with spines may have them for the same reason - so as not to be overgrown by other ferns, orchids, or lianas. For directional spines, I'd look at the size of the plant and its relative habit - downward pointing ones would tend to me to indicate that the plant is trying to protect itself from invadors coming from below, while upward-pointing ones say "don't step on me." Lasia is an aquatic, as I understand it. I'd bet the spines are particularly sharp to dissuade wading birds and crocodilids from disturbing the mat, as well as to discourage anything that thinks it looks like a tasty snack.... It would probably only take one nasty festering thorn wound to keep me away from a plant like that! Then again, I grow a number of plants that do this to me on a regular basis, so maybe I'm not as smart as a heron! Beth ___ Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 13:03:14 +0000 From: <ju-bo@msn.com> Subject: [Aroid-l] Thorns on Aroids To: <aroid-l@gizmoworks.com> Message-ID: <SNT102-W8FA7B67B7BC1BD58E6AF5FAB10@phx.gbl>

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