Stop and Think! Isn't it Amazing...

[TheJollyRancher]

...how the genetic information in each seed can showcase the vast differences in pod shapes and heat? Even though most seeds look identical from one to the next...

The information encapsulated in each seed telling it 'what to do' and 'what it should be' is pretty darn cool if you stop and think about it...

I only mention this because I was packing up seed packages tonight and all of the seeds look very similar from one to another (from Marconi to Jalapeno to Anaheim to 7 Pot--they all reside on a different part of the spectrum of the heat scale and pod shapes/types)

The natural world is pretty cool if you stop and think about it!

Maybe I am just champing at the bit to start my 2009 crop...

 

[AlabamaJack]

it is truly amazing TJR...I think it is even possible for two seeds from the same pod to produce different color/shape pods on the next generation if the insect that pollinated it had pollen from different plants in it's "fur"...

 

[TheJollyRancher]

'tis just a luck of the draw sometimes!

good thing chile pods (most) are self pollinated, but at the same time it is nice to see some variation once in a while when nature enacts a change...

that is why we are here and have so many types of chiles to discuss on a daily basis.

 

[patrick]

Ma Nature is the coolest.

 

[PrairieChilihead]

It is amazing...some seeds are larger or rounder or a slightly different colour, but overall they all look so similar that the variances you can get from seed to seed is staggering to think of. 'Course, the genetics involved in creating a human is kind of impressive, too...isn't it?

 

[Armadillo]

Recombination is what makes the world go round. Even mankind recombines since the beginning. And that is good.

 

[Davetaylor]

the coolest things in nature i find are the mimics, pretending to be something else so predators leave them alone whether they are plants or animals.
But the amazing thing a find about peppers is that they don't 'burn' birds.
Pepper know not what a bird is so how is it that the only thing that is not affected by the defence system is the thing that can spread the seeds over the greatest distance, so continuing the survival of the genes.
Yes nature rules

 

[PrairieChilihead]

the coolest things in nature i find are the mimics, pretending to be something else so predators leave them alone whether they are plants or animals.
But the amazing thing a find about peppers is that they don't 'burn' birds.
Pepper know not what a bird is so how is it that the only thing that is not affected by the defence system is the thing that can spread the seeds over the greatest distance, so continuing the survival of the genes.
Yes nature rules

I hope the plants don't figure out that we people can spread the seeds over even greater distances than the birds can - by mailing seeds to each other. It would be disappointing if the peppers stopped affecting us.

 

[TXCG]

But the amazing thing a find about peppers is that they don't 'burn' birds.
Pepper know not what a bird is so how is it that the only thing that is not affected by the defence system is the thing that can spread the seeds over the greatest distance, so continuing the survival of the genes.
Yes nature rules

In that same line of thought, what always really impressed me were the mechanical defenses plants developed, like thorns and stuff. I find that more amazing because that seems to show some sort of awareness of external things existing. I mean I can see how a poisonous plant could just happen to be poisonous to an animal, but how the hell did they figure out they needed thorns?

 

[talas]

Such joy in a tiny package and such variety,Must admit no what you mean seeing all those different variety's and realizing how different they are..But look the same..Lesson there i think

 

[Armadillo]

the coolest things in nature i find are the mimics, pretending to be something else so predators leave them alone whether they are plants or animals.
But the amazing thing a find about peppers is that they don't 'burn' birds.
Pepper know not what a bird is so how is it that the only thing that is not affected by the defence system is the thing that can spread the seeds over the greatest distance, so continuing the survival of the genes.
Yes nature rules

It's a thing of mutation and selection and millions of years. Call it god's plan or fuzzy logic or quantum physics or what ever. Works nice however.

I hope the plants don't figure out that we people can spread the seeds over even greater distances than the birds can - by mailing seeds to each other. It would be disappointing if the peppers stopped affecting us.

Don't panic! The hotties have a selection advantage because the hotter they are the more we spread them!

 

[chilehunter]

...The natural world is pretty cool if you stop and think about it!

yes it is!!
I dont give much thought about seeds because seeds are seeds & many types look similiar to each other, not just chile seeds.

what I find amazing is wildlife as to what they can do or endure, when you really think about it the human race are wimps compared to wildlife.

 

[Armadillo]

yes it is!!
I dont give much thought about seeds because seeds are seeds & many types look similiar to each other, not just chile seeds.

what I find amazing is wildlife as to what they can do or endure, when you really think about it the human race are wimps compared to wildlife.

Those wimps have come a long way though.

 

[chilehunter]

yes & no.
yes humans have come a long ways but only because of our brain & hands, otherwise on an animal level we've went backwards.
we are no match against most animals when it comes to the 5 senses, strength, ability to withstand extreme conditions (hot/cold/toxic/starvation/etc..) or just the plain feats animals can do or their will to survive.

so yea I beleive humans are wimps compared to wildlife, humans whine at the slightest discomfort.
what ya mean dinner is late, oh it so cold its 0C/32F with my 5 layers on, oh I broke my arm,what you mean the elevator is out & I gotta use the stairs, you expect me to walk that far!, etc... you know what I'm talking about.

 

[Armadillo]

yes & no.
yes humans have come a long ways but only because of our brain & hands, otherwise on an animal level we've went backwards.
we are no match against most animals when it comes to the 5 senses, strength, ability to withstand extreme conditions (hot/cold/toxic/starvation/etc..) or just the plain feats animals can do or their will to survive.

so yea I beleive humans are wimps compared to wildlife, humans whine at the slightest discomfort.
what ya mean dinner is late, oh it so cold its 32C/0F with my 5 layers on, oh I broke my arm,what you mean the elevator is out & I gotta use the stairs, you expect me to walk that far!, etc... you know what I'm talking about.

I absolutely know what you are talking about. In wildlife we would be under a big selective pressure. But we managed to push wildlife back very far and we survived. Don't know how long we will survive. And of course we're top of the evolution! Why? Because we are the first species able to raise by own power the selective pressure that will lead to it's own extinction. Nice achievement!

 

[patrick]

Amazing what brains and an opposable thumb can accomplish.

Lots of folks will complain and whine when their luxury's are taken away from them. But, put them in a situation where it's live or die and you would be surprised just how tough they can get.

 

[cheezydemon]

I absolutely know what you are talking about. In wildlife we would be under a big selective pressure. But we managed to push wildlife back very far and we survived. Don't know how long we will survive. And of course we're top of the evolution! Why? Because we are the first species able to raise by own power the selective pressure that will lead to it's own extinction. Nice achievement!

What's even crazier is man's influence on nature's natural selection.

Horses have been bred to have incredible muscle mass and tooth pick thin legs when compared to their wild cousins.

Chinese crested dogs would never have made it in the wild, but they flourish (somewhat) for bizarro dog lovers.

There are now like 450 distinct breeds of cow. All due to our wants and whims.

The lowly cabbage has evolved into something like 20 other vegetables under our selective care.

Wimps though we are, we have moved beyond survival and into playing god.

 

[PrairieChilihead]

The hotties have a selection advantage because the hotter they are the more we spread them!

Okay, the conversation has gotten really interesting regarding natural selection and evolution. In particular, this statement, made in jest, begs the question of peppers evolving into hotter species in the wild. Not the purposeful genetic manipulation we humans partake in to develop hotter species, but the hotter species being discovered in the wild. Since mainly pepper plants depend on birds to spread the seed and birds cannot detect heat, why do peppers seem to be evolving into hotter and hotter varieties? What possible purpose can this serve...from the pepper plants' perspective?

 

[chilliman64]

...how the genetic information in each seed can showcase the vast differences in pod shapes and heat? Even though most seeds look identical from one to the next...

The information encapsulated in each seed telling it 'what to do' and 'what it should be' is pretty darn cool if you stop and think about it...

I only mention this because I was packing up seed packages tonight and all of the seeds look very similar from one to another (from Marconi to Jalapeno to Anaheim to 7 Pot--they all reside on a different part of the spectrum of the heat scale and pod shapes/types)

The natural world is pretty cool if you stop and think about it!

Maybe I am just champing at the bit to start my 2009 crop...

sounds like we may be in for some of that old time religion... or do we prefer Darwinism

 

[MrArboc]

Since mainly pepper plants depend on birds to spread the seed and birds cannot detect heat, why do peppers seem to be evolving into hotter and hotter varieties? What possible purpose can this serve...from the pepper plants' perspective?

Discouragin other animals that don't benefit the chiles from eating them maybe. A defence mechanism.