Ep. 325 - Toxic Soils & Drinking Water From Rocks

Everyone needs a bit of calcium in their diet, but too much of it can cause serious health issues. The same is true for plants. Growing in soils high in calcium is no walk in the park and yet, around the world, we see many plants that have adapted to soils made toxic by calcium sulfate. How they manage to adapt to such conditions is the main research interest of Dr. Sara Palacio. She focuses her work on the evolution and physiology of plants that grow in soils dominated by gypsum. Her work has her looking at everything from how plants use calcium sulfate to their advantage and the effects of herbivory on gypsum endemics to how some plants are able to get water directly from rocks! Join us for a fascinating dive into the world of gypsum plants. This episode was produced in part by Lauren, Danielle, Allie, Jeffrey, Amanda, Tommy, Marcel, C Leigh, Karma, Shelby, Christopher, Alvin, Arek, Chellie, Dani, Paul, Dani, Tara, Elly, Colleen, Natalie, Nathan, Ario, Laura, Cari, Margaret, Mary, Connor, Nathan, Jan, Jerome, Brian, Azomonas, Ellie, University Greens, Joseph, Melody, Patricia, Matthew, Garrett, John, Ashley, Cathrine, Melvin, OrangeJulian, Porter, Jules, Griff, Joan, Megan, Marabeth, Les, Ali, Southside Plants, Keiko, Robert, Bryce, Wilma, Amanda, Helen, Mikey, Michelle, German, Joerg, Cathy, Tate, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Lynn, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Brett, Jocelyn, Ethan, Sheryl, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Chris, Alana, Rachel, Joanna, Lori, Paul, Griff, Matthew, Bobby, Vaibhav, Steven, Joseph, Brandon, Liam, Hall, Jared, Brandon, Christina, Carly, Kazys, Stephen, Katherine, Mohsin Kazmi Takes Pictures, Manny, doeg, Daniel, Tim, Philip, Tim, Lisa, Brodie, Bendix, Irene, holly, Sara, and Margie.