A couple of months ago I discussed the real-life equivalents of a few of the plant-based Pokemon
you can catch in Pokemon Go.
You can watch that by clicking the link in the top right.
Today, I’ll be covering a few more!
Last time, I talked about personal favorite Pokemon, Oddish.
But I also love the Pokemon Oddish ultimately evolves into: Vileplume.
I think Vileplume looks like flowers in the genus Rafflesia.
There are a few really cool things about these plants.
Firstly, they’re parasitic.
This means that they produce no chlorophyll, so can’t photosynthesize and produce energy
themselves.
Instead, they sap resources from vines in the genus Tetrastigma.
It has a specific appendage, called the haustorium, which it grows inside of the other plants
vines, allowing it to absorb nutrients.
Rafflesia flowers can also be HUGE.
The five-petaled flowers of Rafflesia arnoldii are up to 39 inches wide.
And, these flowers produce a lovely rotting smell.
This feature has earned them a title also given to the Titan Arum, which is the “corpse
flower”.
This smell draws in pollinators, like beetles and flies that tend to feed on rotting meat.
Presumably, this means that Vileplume doesn’t smell so great.
This next Pokemon technically isn’t plant-based, but I still think it’s super cool and related
to plants.
Scyther, this green guy right here, looks a lot like a Praying Mantis!
There are actually almost 2,500 species of Mantis, all in the Order Mantodea.
They have triangular heads, with long forelegs held out in front of their body, thus giving
them the common name Praying Mantis.
Pictured here is Mantis religiosa, the European mantis.
The females of this species are generally bigger, and as a result only the males and
young females are able to fly.
Like most mantids, they feed on other insects.
They are ambush predators; these use those huge eyes to spot prey, and catch them quickly
on their long arms.
And the thing that mantises may be most famous for, aside from their appearance, is sexual
cannibalism.
Aka, in some cases, the female mantis eats the male after mating.
In a 1991 study, researchers found that in the European mantis, sexual cannibalism occurred
in 31% of encounters in the wild.
And when it does occur, the female often begins by breaking off the male’s head.
So mantises are pretty hardcore.
And you probably shouldn’t mess with Scyther.
This behavior has been studied extensively, but scientists haven’t really figured out
why it happens.
And finally, I’m going to talk about Jumpluff, this adorable, fluffy little pokemon.
I am reminded of dandelions, a very common and maligned weed.
As a kid, I loved dandelions, and didn’t understand why people disliked them so much!
Dandelions are in the Asteraceae family, in good company with sunflowers.
What’s most distinctive about them, however, is their seeds.
They are evolved for wind-distribution, which is makes them so fun for kids.
Dandelions are in the genus Taraxacum, and those seeds are called cypsela.
Basically, each cypsela carries one seed, and has a fluffy off-shoot that helps it catch
the wind.
That fluff is actually called the pappus, and is derived from the calyx of the flower.
That’s the part of the flower that has the sepals, the green petal-like tabs below the
petals.
For more info on flower anatomy, click the link in the top right!
When they’re fully mature, the cypsela get caught in the wind, hopefully to land somewhere
new where they can grow and flourish!
Here’s an up-close image of a cypsela from Cynara cardunculus, another plant in the Asteraceae
family.
Another thing I love about dandelions is that they are survivors.
They’re known as ruderals, which are plants that grow first in disturbed soil.
So they’re the first plants to move in on an area, and they’re very adaptable.
Which is pretty damn cool.
Dandelions are also a great source of food for pollinators, so I encourage you to leave
them be, even if they’re “ruining” your lawn.
Maybe you can just pretend they’re adorable Pokemon.
All right, that’s three more irl versions of some awesome Pokemon.
If there’s other Pokemon you’d like me to talk about, let me know!
And as a reminder, TODAY is the last day to enter a giveaway for a lovely JSTOR Global
Plants poster, click the link to my last video to check it out.
As always, don’t forget to like this video, subscribe to get my new videos right on your
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Thanks so much for watching; I’ll see you soon.