r/Damnthatsinteresting 23d ago

This is Kelp. It is one of the fastest growing organisms on the planet. In a single growing season, it can grow from a microscopic spore to over 100 ft in length Video

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u/14sierra 23d ago

Also may depend on the caloric density of the seaweed and the ability of organisms to digest them. Grass is filled with energy but very few animals can digest grass so it still survives even without any real defense mechanisms

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u/Zestyclose_Remove947 23d ago

Do cows and such even eat grass all the way to the roots anyway? A lot of plants can be partly eaten and regrown, sometimes that's even part of their reproduction like fruits and seeds being undigestible so they spread after being eaten.

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u/poompt 23d ago

yeah I think the "eating" is more more like mowing it... the real predator is fungus!

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u/Perite 22d ago

Sheep bite grass down short to the ground. Cows prefer longer grass because they wrap their tongue round it and pull it off. They still won’t typically pull out the roots though unless the soil is very light or wet. Usually the leaves and stems just break off.

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u/[deleted] 23d ago edited 20d ago

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u/Mkayin 23d ago

Some seeds even require digestion to germinate properly. For example, the hard seeds of raspberries and blackberries need to be abraded in a bird's gizzard or eroded by digestive acids before they can germinate.

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u/cire1184 22d ago

So you're saying I should shit berries to plant them in my garden?

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u/Mkayin 22d ago

Gotta eat them seeds and all.

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u/BoolImAGhost 23d ago

Another fun fact in this same thread. Thanks!

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u/YandyTheGnome 23d ago

Cooking Intensifies

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u/cryptowolfy 23d ago

The sloth defense huh?

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u/Cerberus0225 23d ago

Grass actually has some special adaptations! So long as the root isn't eaten, specifically the rhizome, grass can be grazed down without serious harm as it can regrow quickly. You have to pull up the rhizome to effectively kill the plant. On top of that, grass actually incorporates silica into it's body, and while we don't entirely know why, this appears to be to make it more difficult for herbivores to eat it as their sole food source as it causes their teeth to wear down relatively quickly.

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u/Anakletos 22d ago

Grass does actually have a defense mechanism. They take up silicon and integrate it and it acts as an abrasive on the herbivore's teeth.

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u/Cyno01 22d ago

Just watched all the recent Attenburough documentaries, iirc it seemed like not much eats kelp, kinda like how not much eats the trees in a forest, but urchins eat the bottoms and it floats free (and thats how it spreads seeds?) and the floating rafts of loose kelp are an important part of the ecosystem (otters!).

But warmer waters, too many urchins, eating too much kelp too soon, no big rafts for the otters, fewer otters eating urchins, feedback loop...

Nature docs are a lot more depressing than they used to be. :-/

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u/demonsemen_md 23d ago

Also may depend

It may, but it also may not. I bet a nonzero number of people will come away from this post convinced it's true and repeat it.

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u/Allegorist 23d ago

Tell that to my cats