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erronis

(20,691 posts)
7. Recent articles on the little bubbles on the surfaces of many plants
Tue Jan 2, 2024, 08:21 PM
Jan 2024
https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-debunk-127-year-old-theory-of-odd-little-water-balloons/

Quinoa and similar highly resilient plants have unique balloon-like structures known as ‘bladders’ on their surface. For 127 years, it was assumed these bladders helped the plants withstand drought and salty conditions. However, recent research from the University of Copenhagen has debunked this theory.

These so-called bladder cells actually serve a completely different but important function. The finding makes it likely that even more resilient quinoa plants will now be able to be bred, which could lead to the much wider cultivation of this sustainable crop worldwide.

Looking through a microscope, it resembles a water balloon. Or a piece of glass art. But it’s just a so-called bladder cell. If you wondered what it was for, you wouldn’t be the first. For 127 years, even the brightest minds in plant biology believed that the fluid-filled bladders covering the leaves, clustered flowers, and stems of a range of hardy plants were something completely different from what they now turn out to be.


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