The Private Life of Plants. The Private Life of Plants is a BBCnature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first shown in the United Kingdom from 1. January 1. 99. 5. A study of the growth, movement, reproduction and survival of plants, it was the second of Attenboroughs specialised surveys following his major trilogy that began with Life on Earth. Each of the six 5. The series was produced in conjunction with Turner Broadcasting. The executive producer was Mike Salisbury and the music was composed by Richard Grassby Lewis. In 1. 99. 5, it won a George Foster Peabody Award in the category Television. Part of David Attenboroughs Life series of programmes, it was preceded by Life in the Freezer 1. The Life of Birds 1. BackgroundeditThe series utilises time lapse sequences extensively in order to grant insights that would otherwise be almost impossible. Plants live on a different time scale, and even though their life is highly complex and often surprising, most of it is invisible to humans unless events that happen over months or even years are shown within seconds. Like many traditional wildlife documentaries, it makes use of almost no computer animation. The series also discusses fungi, although as it is pointed out, these do not belong to the kingdom of plants. The mechanisms of evolution are taught transparently by showing the advantages of various types of plant behaviour in action. The adaptations are often complex, as it becomes clear that the environment to which plants must adapt comprises not just soil, water and weather, but also other plants, fungi, insects and other animals, and even humans. The series shows that co operative strategies are often much more effective than predatory ones, as these often lead to the prey developing methods of self defence from plants growing spikes to insects learning to recognise mimicry. Yet humans can work around all these rules of nature, so Attenborough concludes with a plea to preserve plants, in the interest of self preservation. In the 2. 00. 2 documentary Life on Air, Keith Scholey, the head of the BBC Natural History Unit, relates that he and his team had been wondering about an ecology series that included plants, and found that Attenborough had been thinking along the same lines So we went to his house and David, as always, listened to our idea and, you know, nodded and was very complimentary about it and said that Actually, I was thinking about something a little bit bolder. And sure enough, by the end of lunch, wed all signed up to do six hours on plants. In the same programme, Attenborough also confessed that he conceived the series partly to realise a long cherished ambition to visit Mount Roraima, which is featured in the last episode. The Private Life of Plants is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first shown in the United Kingdom from 11 January 1995. The Secret Life Of Plants Book Pdf' title='The Secret Life Of Plants Book Pdf' />Attenborough knew that the subject matter had not been covered in depth on television before, and in his autobiography, Life on Air, told of how he hit on the idea of time lapse photography to illustrate it There were, of course, gardening programmes on the BBCs schedules, but they did not deal with the basic facts of botany, or explain how plants feed, how they reproduce and distribute themselves, how they form alliances with particular animals. The reason was only too obvious. How could you construct the dramatic narratives needed for a successful television documentary series if your main characters are rooted to the ground and barely move Thinking about this, it suddenly struck me that plants do move and very dramatically. Outdoors time lapse photography presents a unique set of challenges the varying light and temperatures in particular can cause many problems. To film bluebells under a canopy of beech trees, for example, cameraman Richard Kirby covered them with a thick canvas tent that was lit from within to simulate daylight. He then used a motion controlled camera to obtain a tracking shot, moving it slightly after each exposure. EpisodeseditMidwinter, and the countryside is so still, it seems almost lifeless. Researching for The Secret Lie of Plants in the 197os, I accumulated some extraordinary material on nature spirits, but the book was already. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists informs the public about threats to the survival and development of humanity from nuclear weapons, climate change, and emerging. BibMe Free Bibliography Citation Maker MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard. If youre flying anywhere for the Labor Day holiday, nows the time to book. Prices are only going to go up. The Secret Life Of Plants Book Pdf' title='The Secret Life Of Plants Book Pdf' />But these trees and bushes and grasses around me are living organisms just like animals. And they have to face very much the same sort of problems as animals face throughout their lives if theyre to survive. They have to fight one another, they have to compete for mates, they have to invade new territories. But the reason that were seldom aware of these dramas is that plants of course live on a different time scale. David Attenboroughs opening wordsTravellingeditBroadcast 1. Canon Ir 1610 User Manual. January 1. 99. 5, the first episode looks at how plants are able to move. The bramble is an aggressive example it advances forcefully from side to side and, once settled on its course, there is little that can stand in its way. An altogether faster species is the birdcage plant, which inhabits Californian sand dunes. When its location becomes exposed, it shifts at great speed to another one with the assistance of wind and it is this that allows many forms of vegetation to distribute their seeds. While not a plant, the spores of fungi are also spread in a similar fashion. One of the most successful and intricate flowers to use the wind is the dandelion, whose seeds travel with the aid of parachutes. They are needed to travel miles away from their parents, who are too densely packed to allow any new arrivals. Trees have the advantage of height to send their seeds further, and the cottonwood is shown as a specialist in this regard. The humidity of the tropical rainforest creates transportation problems, and the liana species Alsomitra macrocarpa is one plant whose seeds are aerodynamic gliders. Corel Paintshop Photo Pro X3. Some, such as those of the sycamore, take the form of helicopters, while others, such as the squirting cucumber release their seeds by exploding. Water is also a widely used method of propulsion. The tropical sea bean Entada gigas has one of the biggest fruits of all plants and is dispersed by water streams. The Secret Life Of Plants Book Pdf' title='The Secret Life Of Plants Book Pdf' />However, most plants use living couriers, whether they be dogs, humans and other primates, ants or birds, etc., and to that end, they use colour and smell to signify when they are ripe for picking. GrowingeditBroadcast 1. January 1. 99. 5, this programme is about how plants gain their sustenance. Sunlight is one of the essential requirements if a seed is to germinate, and Attenborough highlights the cheese plant as an example whose young shoots head for the nearest tree trunk and then climb to the top of the forest canopy, developing its leaves en route. Using sunshine, air, water and a few minerals, the leaves are, in effect, the factories that produce food. However, some, such as the begonia, can thrive without much light. To gain moisture, plants typically use their roots to probe underground. Trees pump water up pipes that run inside their trunks, and Attenborough observes that a sycamore can do this at the rate of 4. Too much rainfall can clog up a leafs pores, and many have specially designed gutters to cope with it. However, their biggest threat is from animals, and some require extreme methods of defence, such as spines, camouflage, or poison. Some can move quickly to deter predators the mimosa can fold its leaves instantly when touched, and the Venus flytrap eats insects by closing its leaves around its prey when triggered. Another carnivorous plant is the trumpet pitcher that snares insects when they fall into its tubular leaves.