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From: michaelm@bcsaic.UUCP (Michael Maxwell)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Synchronized flowering
Message-ID: <630@bcsaic.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 19-Mar-87 13:28:11 EST
Article-I.D.: bcsaic.630
Posted: Thu Mar 19 13:28:11 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Mar-87 10:21:39 EST
References: <534@bcsaic.UUCP> <9336@duke.duke.UUCP> <351@gssc.UUCP>
Reply-To: michaelm@bcsaic.UUCP (Michael Maxwell)
Organization: Boeing Computer Services AI Center, Seattle
Lines: 28
Keywords: plant chemical communication

In article <351@gssc.UUCP> geoffs@gssc.UUCP (Geoff Shapiro) writes:
>[about] the synchronized flowering of the trees in Seattle...
>
> ...some members
>of a plant population may induce other members of a population to some desired
>(or advantageous) goal via chemical communication. What this means for the
>Seattle tree population is that when environmental cues cause some members of
>the population to start flowering, chemicals released into the air or the soil
>(I don't know which, the researchers may not know either) induce other members
>which have not yet started their flowering sequence to do so.
>advantage of this should be quite apparent.

Fascinating idea: pheromones of the plant world.  And the flowers in question
are indeed quite odiferous.  But everyone *knows*, this is just to attract
insects.  What if everyone is wrong?








-- 
Mike Maxwell
Boeing Advanced Technology Center
	arpa: michaelm@boeing.com
	uucp: uw-beaver!uw-june!bcsaic!michaelm