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Plants cover much of the
land surface of our planet.
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But there is another
extraordinary green world
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that is often hidden from us.
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00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,800
It's one where plants
have overcome huge challenges
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in order to survive.
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The world of fresh water.
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At first sight, a lake like this
would seem to have everything
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that life needs in order to thrive.
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Clear, oxygen-rich water,
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plenty of dissolved nutrients
and minerals
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and lots of sunlight.
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But, in fact, life in fresh water
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presents plants with huge problems.
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To succeed, plants have had to
abandon many of the adaptations
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that served them so well on land
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and evolve something
quite new and, doing that,
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they have created some of the most
beautiful and bizarre
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and important habitats on Earth.
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There are few places where
it's more difficult to make
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a permanent home than a freshwater
torrent like this one.
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Violent currents
drip across the riverbed,
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scouring it clean...
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..whipping land plants
from their margins
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and drowning them.
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How could any plant survive
in a place like this?
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Yet, even here, some do manage to,
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quite literally, hold on.
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They can grasp the bare rock
with remarkable strength.
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This ability allows plants to thrive
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in these otherwise
hostile environments.
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This is the Cano Cristales
river in Colombia.
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These plants are red Macarenia,
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sometimes called the
Orchid of the Falls.
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They cling to the riverbed,
not with their roots,
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but with their stems, glued
to the rock surface by one
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of the most powerful
adhesives in nature.
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The rock itself will break
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before these anchors
lose their grip.
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These feathery filaments
are their modified leaves,
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and they do what roots normally do -
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gather the minerals and
nutrients they need
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that are dissolved in the water.
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With such spectacular colours,
it's hardly surprising
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that the Cano Cristales
is sometimes called
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the most beautiful river on Earth.
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But being rooted to the spot
is not always the best strategy
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for living in a water world.
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This is a water lettuce,
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and it has some
remarkable adaptations.
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Its roots hang free,
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so it's not anchored to the ground,
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and its leaves are thick and spongy
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and covered in fine hairs.
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So the plant itself
is more or less unsinkable.
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This combination of characteristics
enable the water lettuce
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to do something that almost
no land plant can do.
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It can travel.
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It is an ability that
becomes invaluable when,
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during the wet season, flooded
rivers become great highways,
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as they do here in South America.
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This is the largest inland
water world on Earth.
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The Pantanal.
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For a few months every year,
it provides water plants
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with ideal conditions,
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but, all too soon,
it becomes a battleground.
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Plants are racing to claim
their space on the surface.
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The water lettuce rapidly expands
its network of hanging roots
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so that it starts
absorbing nutrients
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before other competitors arrive.
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Water hyacinth appears.
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Its leaves are carried
on stalks filled with air
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that also make it
virtually unsinkable.
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The race for space intensifies.
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A new competitor arrives, Ludwigia.
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It spreads by developing
a chain of tiny rafts.
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And jostles for space with
the densely packed leaves
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of mosaic plants.
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All are racing to claim
as much sunlight as possible.
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They flower quickly before
the floodwaters recede.
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And these surface dwellers
also have competitors.
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Including one that has been
waiting in the depths
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and is now stirring.
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It's a monster.
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It's well armed.
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It clears space for itself
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by wielding one of its buds.
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Like a club.
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And now it dominates the surface.
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This is a leaf of the
giant water lily.
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It expands by over
20 centimetres a day
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and eventually measures
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more than two metres across.
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Its immense leaves are supported
by a network of air-filled struts
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and protected by spines
two centimetres long.
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The leaves float high in the water
and their surfaces are dotted
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with tiny holes, drains, that
help them ensure that rainwater
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doesn't accumulate and sink them.
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Nutrients from the fertile mud
below are carried up by tubes
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in its stem to fuel
the leaf's expansion.
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Over the next few months,
the lily will produce
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some 40 or so of these
gigantic leaves.
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And as each one reaches the surface
and expands, more and more light
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is taken from those plants
that are trying to grow beneath.
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Competitors are pushed aside.
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Some are crushed,
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or skewered.
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Eventually, its immense
leaves press their margins
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against one another,
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totally cutting off the light
from the plants beneath them.
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The battle is over.
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00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,120
And victory is total.
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The frozen water world of
Lake Akan in northern Japan.
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Home to one of the strangest
and most primitive of plants.
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It's an alga, like those that appear
so mysteriously in our ponds.
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But this one is truly extraordinary.
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Each spring, the melting ice
releases soft, velvety balls
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of interwoven threads
called Marimos.
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This one is small.
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No bigger than a walnut.
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But there are lots of them here.
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They attract the attention
of visiting whooper swans.
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But there is one way for the
Marimo to escape from the danger,
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and it depends on a change
in the weather.
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Fortunately, in the spring,
winds sweep across the lake...
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..creating currents that carry some
of the Marimos beyond the reach
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of hungry swans.
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It's the start
of a remarkable journey.
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They are gently carried back
and forth by the currents
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so that the Marimos become
more and more spherical.
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And, slowly, they travel
into deeper water.
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Here, there are great numbers
of them, certainly many millions.
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Some are the size of basketballs.
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They're safe from swans,
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and the water is still
shallow enough
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for some sunlight to reach them.
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It seems a perfect home.
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And so it is...
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..almost.
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The snag is that these waters
also carry a fine sediment
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that can clog the Marimo's surface,
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cutting off the all-important light.
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But the Marimos are not
entirely immobile.
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They dance.
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The winds blowing over the
lake's surface create currents
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beneath that are sufficiently
strong to move the Marimos.
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They rub against each other.
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And in just a couple of hours
of gentle movement,
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they're all clean once more.
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As they spin, every part
of their surface
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gets enough time in the sunlight
to keep growing.
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This is the heart of the Amazon.
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There are water worlds here that
are so remote that, even today,
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few people have ever seen them.
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This barely explored tributary
is the Rio Claro.
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And here, when conditions
are just right, it's possible
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to witness a rare
and remarkable spectacle.
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The river is so crystal clear
that its bed is bathed in sunlight.
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A magical landscape of miniature
mountains and valleys.
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It's carpeted by pipewort, fanwort
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and star grasses.
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As the sun climbs in the sky...
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..bubbles of gas appear.
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Evidence of photosynthesis.
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Deep inside the plant cells,
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tiny structures called chloroplasts
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move towards the light.
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They absorb carbon dioxide
and use the sun's power
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to synthesise the sugars
that the plant needs to grow.
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And as a by-product,
they release oxygen.
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The gas that we and all
other animals must have
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in order to breathe.
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Now, in late afternoon, bubbles
of oxygen make the river water
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fizz like champagne.
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The plants can become
so buoyant with gas
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that they rise to the surface,
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even carrying the bedrock with them.
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Only in this remote water world
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can this spectacular
natural wonder be seen.
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Eastern Venezuela.
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Here, rectangular table mountains
known as tepuis
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stand above the tropical forest.
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There are more than 50 such
isolated mountain plateaus here,
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each home to a unique
community of plants.
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Downpours are so torrential
that no soil can accumulate
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on their broad, rocky summits,
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and some plants living up here
have to find their nutrients
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from another source.
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These are Bromeliads.
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Their leaves are shaped like
a funnel and collect rainwater,
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which accumulates in the centre.
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This small pond is colonised
by all kinds of tiny animals.
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And it is their bodies,
when they die, that provide
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some of the nutrients
the Bromeliads need.
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This makes a good partnership
in which both parties can thrive.
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But...
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..it can be exploited
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by a plant predator.
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00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:50,960
This probing stem belongs to a plant
called a bladderwort.
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It, too, is in need of nutrients.
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And a well-stocked Bromeliad pool
is just the place to find them.
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This one is full of aquatic animals.
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The bladderwort begins to change...
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..into a hunter.
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It develops bladders
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and removes sufficient
of the water within them
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to create a partial vacuum.
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00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:10,480
Each bladder has a trap door
beside it with trigger hairs.
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00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:16,360
Now all the bladderwort has to do...
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00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:21,040
..is to bide its time.
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00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:43,640
It only takes one touch
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for the trap door to snap open...
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..and suck in its prey.
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00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:00,920
It's all over in a millisecond.
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00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:15,200
And after it has fed, a bladderwort
has enough energy
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00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:17,960
to produce another tendril
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00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:20,960
to search for another
Bromeliad pool.
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00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:40,080
Swamps and bogs are also
poor in nutrients.
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00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:47,280
So several plants that live in
such places catch insects too,
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00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:48,960
if they can.
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00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:07,400
The leaves of Sundews are
covered with long, red hairs,
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each tipped with a droplet.
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These glistening globules are,
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in fact, glue.
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Once the Sundews detect the taste
of their victim's body,
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they flood it with
digestive enzymes.
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The little body disintegrates.
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And the Sundew gets
the nutrients it needs.
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Another plant has
an even more elaborate way
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00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:30,640
of catching a meal.
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00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:41,280
The Venus Flytrap has leaves
that are lined
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with interlocking teeth.
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It attracts insects by producing
a sweet perfume,
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just as a flower does.
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It, too, has a hair trigger.
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And another insect is caught.
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But the technique is more complex
than it might seem.
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The Venus Flytrap has a problem.
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It needs to avoid false alarms,
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snapping shut on something
inedible, like a raindrop
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or a little bit of twig.
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That would be a waste
of both time and energy.
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So how does it avoid that?
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Well, it does it by counting.
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If I touch this one,
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sensitive hair just there...
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..no reaction.
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That could be a false alarm,
but the plant remembers that
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00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:14,800
for 20 seconds.
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00:33:14,800 --> 00:33:18,480
And if I touch it a second
time within that time,
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then that's much more likely
to be worth eating.
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00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:23,440
And so...
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00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:27,120
..it closes.
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00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:35,760
So far, so good, but now it
needs to be absolutely certain
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00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:38,680
that it's got something
worth eating,
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00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:40,920
so it continues counting.
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00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:46,240
Only after it has totted up five
separate touches to those hairs
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will it give the final squeeze
and then begin to produce the liquid
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00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:55,600
from the surface of the leaf,
which will dissolve the body
259
00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:57,520
of its unfortunate victim.
260
00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:04,640
The Flytrap now has enough
energy to produce flowers
261
00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:08,000
and attract pollinating insects.
262
00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:24,320
Wind and insects between them
pollinate virtually all land plants,
263
00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:28,040
but neither method can be used
by plants that live
264
00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:30,240
entirely underwater.
265
00:34:30,240 --> 00:34:32,760
So some lead double lives.
266
00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:40,600
A chalk stream in southern England,
and swaying in the current
267
00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:43,960
is a plant for which these rivers
are famous.
268
00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:50,080
This is water-crowfoot,
a kind of aquatic buttercup.
269
00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:53,800
For most of the year,
it is underwater.
270
00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:57,400
And if I take this
underwater camera...
271
00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:04,600
..you can see its floppy stems
grow horizontally.
272
00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:08,000
That reduces the risk of being
swept away by the current.
273
00:35:11,240 --> 00:35:15,000
But each spring, when it's
time to flower, it produces
274
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:17,160
something crucially different...
275
00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:24,480
..a stem that is stiff enough
to resist the current
276
00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:27,760
and lift its flowers
into the air above.
277
00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:51,600
And now, of course,
they can get help from insects.
278
00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:10,440
So every year, in part, at least,
279
00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:14,000
water-crowfoot becomes
a land plant...
280
00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:21,160
..and provides us with one of
the loveliest natural spectacles
281
00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:22,880
of the early English summer.
282
00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:36,680
Water-crowfoot is not the only
water plant to lift its flowers
283
00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:37,720
above the surface.
284
00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:46,440
Plants do so all around the world.
285
00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:55,080
From the swamps of the Pantanal...
286
00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:03,560
..to the lakes of Thailand,
287
00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:06,560
they all burst
into spectacular bloom.
288
00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:21,040
Once they've been pollinated,
they produce seeds.
289
00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:36,000
And now their flowers
have done their job,
290
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:40,640
some return to a life under water.
291
00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:50,640
Now they must ensure
that some of their seeds
292
00:37:50,640 --> 00:37:54,240
will find suitable places
in which to germinate.
293
00:38:07,800 --> 00:38:14,320
Bullrushes every year produce
these long, brown, velvety objects.
294
00:38:15,560 --> 00:38:18,280
Look what happens
when I break one open.
295
00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:25,920
It contains almost
a quarter of a million seeds.
296
00:38:34,200 --> 00:38:37,760
Each seed is attached
to a delicate parachute.
297
00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:48,400
Even the slightest breeze
will lift it and may carry it
298
00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:50,760
for very long distances indeed.
299
00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:57,200
So even though suitable
stretches of fresh water are few
300
00:38:57,200 --> 00:39:01,080
and far between, there's
a good chance that at least one
301
00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:03,480
will end up in a place
where it can grow.
302
00:39:12,560 --> 00:39:16,200
Much bigger seeds, of course,
can't travel by air.
303
00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:26,760
A river can provide transport,
304
00:39:26,760 --> 00:39:31,560
but it's a one-way
journey downstream
305
00:39:31,560 --> 00:39:33,760
that often ends up in the sea.
306
00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:39,120
And that's not ideal.
307
00:39:41,720 --> 00:39:47,080
So how can any riverside plant
avoid this and travel upstream?
308
00:39:49,720 --> 00:39:52,760
Here, along the Bonito River
in Brazil,
309
00:39:52,760 --> 00:39:57,080
a variety of trees manage
to do exactly that.
310
00:40:04,240 --> 00:40:08,720
They embed their seeds in the middle
of soft, sweet fruit.
311
00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:29,760
Monkeys, such as these capuchins,
312
00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:33,160
make a meal of them
just as soon as they're ripe.
313
00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:42,040
But monkeys are very
wasteful feeders.
314
00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:46,680
And what's not eaten
ends up in the river
315
00:40:46,680 --> 00:40:49,080
and is washed away.
316
00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:05,240
But not all.
317
00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:28,520
In the fruiting season,
hundreds of Piraputanga fish
318
00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:30,360
gather beneath these trees.
319
00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:43,800
But the Piraputanga want more
than the monkeys' leftovers.
320
00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:50,920
The brightly coloured fruits are
clearly visible, even to the fish
321
00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:52,120
in the water below.
322
00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:04,480
And some manage to claim them
323
00:42:04,480 --> 00:42:06,480
even before a monkey does.
324
00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:23,160
This isn't a skill mastered
by just one particularly
325
00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:25,920
successful acrobatic fish.
326
00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:29,040
Many of the Piraputanga can do this.
327
00:42:34,600 --> 00:42:37,600
Nor is this a disaster for the tree.
328
00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:45,200
Far from it.
329
00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:54,520
These Piraputanga are migratory,
330
00:42:54,520 --> 00:42:58,080
heading many miles upriver to spawn.
331
00:43:06,040 --> 00:43:09,840
The trees, by enticing
the fish to eat their fruits,
332
00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:13,080
have a perfect means of transport
for their seeds.
333
00:43:14,600 --> 00:43:20,080
With luck, the seeds will be
deposited many miles upstream.
334
00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:41,320
The ability to colonise new habitats
335
00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:46,240
has allowed one group of flowering
plants to venture out of fresh water
336
00:43:46,240 --> 00:43:50,800
and into a world that
may look the same to us,
337
00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:54,000
but for a plant
is crucially different.
338
00:43:57,320 --> 00:43:59,760
The much greater, saltier world...
339
00:44:01,320 --> 00:44:02,760
..the sea.
340
00:44:05,800 --> 00:44:11,400
This is a fruit from one of the most
important plants on the Earth today.
341
00:44:12,480 --> 00:44:14,000
Seagrass.
342
00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:25,720
This particular one is floating
off the coast of Formentera
343
00:44:25,720 --> 00:44:27,280
in the Mediterranean.
344
00:44:39,520 --> 00:44:44,320
100,000 years ago,
a seagrass seed like this
345
00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:47,080
sank to the sea floor just here.
346
00:45:02,080 --> 00:45:03,920
And, eventually, it produced...
347
00:45:05,560 --> 00:45:07,000
..a great meadow.
348
00:45:11,400 --> 00:45:15,960
A meadow that is still
flourishing today.
349
00:45:19,120 --> 00:45:21,920
It did so by cloning itself.
350
00:45:25,160 --> 00:45:28,040
Now over ten miles across,
351
00:45:28,040 --> 00:45:30,680
it's not only one
of the largest living
352
00:45:30,680 --> 00:45:32,960
organisms on Earth,
353
00:45:32,960 --> 00:45:35,080
it's also one of the oldest.
354
00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:47,560
And it supports a rich community
of many kinds of animals.
355
00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:56,080
It's become a kind of
marine savannah.
356
00:46:01,400 --> 00:46:04,720
Over 1,000 species now live here.
357
00:46:04,720 --> 00:46:08,520
Some, like these elegantly
camouflaged pipe fish,
358
00:46:08,520 --> 00:46:11,080
live nowhere else but
amongst the seagrass.
359
00:46:21,560 --> 00:46:24,800
Seagrass fringes
many of the world's coasts.
360
00:46:32,600 --> 00:46:34,600
Turtles depend upon it, too.
361
00:46:39,560 --> 00:46:43,240
And so do Dugong - animals
that are sometimes called,
362
00:46:43,240 --> 00:46:46,080
very appropriately, sea cows.
363
00:46:54,600 --> 00:46:59,080
Today, seagrass plays a critical
role in maintaining the health
364
00:46:59,080 --> 00:47:00,840
of our planet.
365
00:47:02,920 --> 00:47:06,080
It creates stores of carbon
around its roots
366
00:47:06,080 --> 00:47:08,360
at an enormous rate.
367
00:47:08,360 --> 00:47:12,320
35 times faster, in fact,
than plants that live on the floor
368
00:47:12,320 --> 00:47:14,120
of a tropical rainforest.
369
00:47:17,840 --> 00:47:20,000
Here in Formentera,
370
00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:23,280
it's possible to see,
beneath the living seagrass,
371
00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:25,920
layer upon layer of trapped carbon
372
00:47:25,920 --> 00:47:30,320
that the plants have accumulated
over the past 2,000 years.
373
00:47:37,240 --> 00:47:42,000
Seagrass, however, is easily
destroyed by human disturbance.
374
00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:46,000
A third of the world's underwater
meadows have already been lost,
375
00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:48,200
and many more are in decline.
376
00:47:56,520 --> 00:48:01,360
Biologists are now striving to not
only protect the remaining meadows,
377
00:48:01,360 --> 00:48:03,160
but to restore them.
378
00:48:06,280 --> 00:48:09,000
One plant at a time.
379
00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:19,160
Seagrass could be a valuable ally
380
00:48:19,160 --> 00:48:21,560
in our fight against climate change.
381
00:48:25,560 --> 00:48:29,800
Today, water worlds everywhere
are under threat.
382
00:48:35,160 --> 00:48:38,720
Many of their inhabitants
are disappearing
383
00:48:38,720 --> 00:48:41,520
without us even being aware
of their existence.
384
00:48:49,720 --> 00:48:53,920
The plants that grow in water
are probably the least noticeable.
385
00:48:53,920 --> 00:48:56,440
They're certainly the least studied.
386
00:48:56,440 --> 00:49:00,400
But the more you know about
the problems of living in that way,
387
00:49:00,400 --> 00:49:03,560
the greater the wonder
of their success.
388
00:49:05,320 --> 00:49:08,920
Surely they deserve
more of our attention
389
00:49:08,920 --> 00:49:10,400
and, most importantly,
390
00:49:10,400 --> 00:49:11,680
our care.
391
00:49:28,520 --> 00:49:32,400
This vast wetland is the Pantanal.
392
00:49:32,400 --> 00:49:36,480
The Water World's team are heading
to a plant battlefield.
393
00:49:37,720 --> 00:49:40,920
The home of Brazil's
giant water lily.
394
00:49:43,640 --> 00:49:46,360
This is like seeing
the end of a war.
395
00:49:46,360 --> 00:49:48,240
There are leaves growing
on top of each other,
396
00:49:48,240 --> 00:49:50,640
flowers going through leaves.
397
00:49:50,640 --> 00:49:52,040
Unbelievable!
398
00:49:54,360 --> 00:49:58,840
To capture this story in all
its detail would take over a year
399
00:49:58,840 --> 00:50:03,400
and require a unique Green Planet
approach, both filming here,
400
00:50:03,400 --> 00:50:06,400
and, in a parallel mini Pantanal,
401
00:50:06,400 --> 00:50:09,720
in deepest, darkest Devon.
402
00:50:13,320 --> 00:50:17,440
This is the unique world of
specialist time lapse cameraman
403
00:50:17,440 --> 00:50:18,960
Tim Shepherd.
404
00:50:21,840 --> 00:50:26,720
Tim has the reputation of being
able to think like a plant.
405
00:50:27,720 --> 00:50:31,560
It's absolutely crucial that
you get the plant really happy.
406
00:50:31,560 --> 00:50:35,040
And to make the giant lily
feel totally at home,
407
00:50:35,040 --> 00:50:38,720
Tim must build a little piece
of Brazilian wetland.
408
00:50:40,840 --> 00:50:43,600
First, a 10,000 litre tank.
409
00:50:46,880 --> 00:50:51,480
Hundreds of bricks,
almost 1,000 kilos of soil
410
00:50:51,480 --> 00:50:53,880
and countless cups of tea later,
411
00:50:53,880 --> 00:50:55,720
the foundations are complete.
412
00:50:57,320 --> 00:50:59,840
So far, so good.
413
00:50:59,840 --> 00:51:04,960
Now time to prepare for the
new green pellet camera system.
414
00:51:04,960 --> 00:51:08,520
We're trying to assemble
the main gantry framework
415
00:51:08,520 --> 00:51:11,720
so that we can mount the
moving rig on top of it.
416
00:51:11,720 --> 00:51:14,520
So it's a bit of a fiddle
to get all the screws
417
00:51:14,520 --> 00:51:16,720
in all the right places, basically.
418
00:51:18,080 --> 00:51:21,640
After a few weeks,
the building works are complete.
419
00:51:22,960 --> 00:51:25,120
The flood can now begin.
420
00:51:32,200 --> 00:51:35,520
Tim needs to be sure
everything in the room is heated
421
00:51:35,520 --> 00:51:37,360
to tropical temperatures...
422
00:51:42,040 --> 00:51:45,040
..before the star of the scene
can move in.
423
00:51:47,680 --> 00:51:53,120
Carefully grown at the Royal Botanic
Gardens at Kew, especially for us.
424
00:51:57,400 --> 00:52:01,000
Everything depends
on this one plant.
425
00:52:01,000 --> 00:52:04,280
There will be no time
for a second attempt.
426
00:52:05,960 --> 00:52:08,600
And even more important for Tim
427
00:52:08,600 --> 00:52:11,920
to keep his guest happy and healthy.
428
00:52:11,920 --> 00:52:14,480
This big monster need a lot
of feeding.
429
00:52:14,480 --> 00:52:18,800
We found we need about
five sand bags full of compost
430
00:52:18,800 --> 00:52:22,840
every two or three weeks,
so we just sort of lower them in
431
00:52:22,840 --> 00:52:24,960
and stick them down by the roots.
432
00:52:24,960 --> 00:52:27,000
There you go.
433
00:52:27,000 --> 00:52:30,400
Whilst the Devon giant settles in,
434
00:52:30,400 --> 00:52:35,080
the Pantanal crew are continuing
to get their shots.
435
00:52:35,080 --> 00:52:38,360
Time to see some giant
water lilies underwater.
436
00:52:38,360 --> 00:52:41,240
And I hope there's no anaconda.
437
00:52:47,800 --> 00:52:50,240
Ooh! Mission accomplished!
438
00:52:53,760 --> 00:52:55,800
The pressure is now on Tim.
439
00:52:59,320 --> 00:53:04,200
After months of pampering, the
giant lily is ready for action.
440
00:53:06,320 --> 00:53:10,800
First thing to film is a leaf spike
rising up from the depths.
441
00:53:13,240 --> 00:53:16,000
Luckily, there are
no anacondas here.
442
00:53:18,280 --> 00:53:21,480
The special camera
weighs over 40 kilos.
443
00:53:21,480 --> 00:53:24,320
It's suddenly become less heavy,
which is good.
444
00:53:24,320 --> 00:53:28,360
The new rig means Tim
will be able to follow
445
00:53:28,360 --> 00:53:30,680
the emerging plant in any direction.
446
00:53:35,920 --> 00:53:38,040
Wow, fancy!
447
00:53:39,680 --> 00:53:41,880
The technology is working well,
448
00:53:41,880 --> 00:53:45,800
but nature is starting
to derail Tim's plans.
449
00:53:45,800 --> 00:53:47,920
We're tangled up in all these weeds.
450
00:53:49,760 --> 00:53:53,880
What happens is we've got a bit
of an ecosystem developing here
451
00:53:53,880 --> 00:53:58,200
and, before you know it,
you get masses and masses of algae
452
00:53:58,200 --> 00:54:00,560
growing in amongst it all.
453
00:54:00,560 --> 00:54:03,080
Cor!
454
00:54:03,080 --> 00:54:07,200
Think I've just released
some anaerobic gases there.
455
00:54:07,200 --> 00:54:10,040
No, not me, the algae!
456
00:54:11,360 --> 00:54:15,400
State of the art tools
help keep the algae at bay.
457
00:54:19,200 --> 00:54:20,240
Eurgh!
458
00:54:26,600 --> 00:54:30,040
Just in time for Tim
to film lift-off.
459
00:54:42,400 --> 00:54:45,280
That's quite nice coming out
of the water, look at that!
460
00:54:45,280 --> 00:54:48,840
Tim's focus can now shift to the
battle that's starting to take place
461
00:54:48,840 --> 00:54:49,880
on the surface.
462
00:54:53,600 --> 00:54:57,160
I'm trying to film this new bud
coming out on this lily leaf.
463
00:54:57,160 --> 00:55:01,040
Give or take about three days
to grow from where it is now.
464
00:55:01,040 --> 00:55:04,000
Somewhere in this zone between
these two other leaves.
465
00:55:04,000 --> 00:55:06,200
I want that to last
about ten seconds.
466
00:55:06,200 --> 00:55:09,480
Ten seconds is about 250 frames.
467
00:55:09,480 --> 00:55:12,160
That works out about
one frame every 20 minutes.
468
00:55:14,040 --> 00:55:17,560
But plants don't read scripts.
469
00:55:17,560 --> 00:55:21,360
It's nature, it doesn't always do
what you think it's going to do.
470
00:55:27,440 --> 00:55:31,040
We've had a few false starts where
the leaf has swung out of shot
471
00:55:31,040 --> 00:55:32,520
and gone somewhere else.
472
00:55:38,240 --> 00:55:40,880
Or it just grows a lot quicker
than you thought.
473
00:55:44,680 --> 00:55:47,240
It's a challenge
to get things right.
474
00:55:47,240 --> 00:55:51,400
But with the combination of Tim's
expertise and the new camera system,
475
00:55:51,400 --> 00:55:54,400
results are starting to look good.
476
00:55:54,400 --> 00:55:57,360
I think the difference now
with this series is we can bring
477
00:55:57,360 --> 00:56:02,160
the plants much more to life
as characters and tell their story
478
00:56:02,160 --> 00:56:04,120
in a much more dynamic way.
479
00:56:06,360 --> 00:56:11,640
It's great to be able to follow them
around much more with the way
480
00:56:11,640 --> 00:56:13,480
you'd film an animal behaving.
481
00:56:20,920 --> 00:56:25,480
These rigs have given us a whole
new realm of possibilities.
482
00:56:25,480 --> 00:56:28,600
After over a year
of filming and recording
483
00:56:28,600 --> 00:56:31,080
100,000 separate images,
484
00:56:31,080 --> 00:56:36,000
the secret life of the giant water
lily and the battle of the Pantanal
485
00:56:36,000 --> 00:56:37,840
has been revealed.
486
00:56:44,040 --> 00:56:46,800
Next time on The Green Planet,
487
00:56:46,800 --> 00:56:50,160
the ever changing seasonal world,
488
00:56:50,160 --> 00:56:54,000
full of hunters, tricksters
489
00:56:54,000 --> 00:56:55,840
and unlikely alliances.
490
00:56:58,960 --> 00:57:03,600
Plants here are in a race
against the clock.
491
00:57:03,600 --> 00:57:05,960
Timing is everything.
492
00:57:08,560 --> 00:57:12,080
The Open University
has produced a poster
493
00:57:12,080 --> 00:57:16,960
that explores the vital role
that plants have for our planet.
494
00:57:16,960 --> 00:57:19,680
To order your free copy, call...
495
00:57:23,080 --> 00:57:24,600
..or go to...
496
00:57:28,600 --> 00:57:31,360
..and follow the links
to the Open University.