Plant

VHS cover

*Plant* is the ninth episode of the third season of Eyewitness. The topic of the episode is about the diversity of plants, their lifestyles and their role in the ecosystem and human society. The episode aired on 10th November 1997.

Plant is based on a book that was first published in 1989, and has been republished on several occasions including in 2000, 2010 and 2011.

## Episode

### Introductory sequence

A dandelion seedhead opens. There is a flash of light from inside the seedhead and it cuts to an animated version that the seeds burst off of. The seeds are shown falling in the Eyewitness Museum in front of a picture of a spinning red flower, before the screen cuts to white.

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Plant.

They can’t move, and lack any sensory organs, but plants are nonetheless very much alive. They create the air we breathe and the food we eat, and bring beauty and life to every corner of the world. Like most plants, the dandelion starts life as a dry seed. All seeds need a wake-up call, whether that is spring sunshine, rainfall or a brushfire. Once awakened, a plant is thirsty. The roots search for water and minerals, with the tips sensitive to light, temperature and even touch. Above ground, the shoots reach for light.

Plants’ essential fertility was celebrated in folklore and festivals, with some enduring to the present day. The young dandelion continues its growth for sunlight. Giant sequoia can grow to around ninety metres tall; like all trees, they use powerful pumping action to draw water to the topmost leaves. Some trees can suck up four hundred litres a day.

The urge to cultivate plants is recorded in the Bible, with the garden of Eden. Later gardens perhaps tried to recapture the perfection of Eden. The oldest working gardens are in New Guinea and have been cultivated for more than 10,000 years. Victorian gardens were grand affairs that produced enough produce for big households and required armies of gardeners. The desire to garden is universal.

Steeped in myth and magic, plants are nature’s conjurers. Plants can change raw chemicals into carbohydrates and proteins, something that animals can’t do. Plants photosynthesise using chlorophyll, which makes their leaves green. The waste product is oxygen, vital for animal life. We breathe out carbon dioxide, essential for plant growth. Some plants cheat, such as the parasitic dodder.

Plants have evolved to survive most of what Earth dishes out, with plants adapted for every habitat including deserts, rainforests and mountaintops. The dandelion can survive around the world but is still sensitive, closing its flowers when it rains. Giant water lilies have inbuilt buoyancy tanks to keep them afloat and their ribbed design inspired the design of London’s Crystal Palace and its girders. Plants also survive in the oceans, where huge forests of kelp grow.

There are many plant mysteries and legends, the most famous being Jack and the beanstalk. Beans were believed to contain the souls of the dead in ancient Greece. All sorts of myths abound about plants, including lettuce, garlic, onions, chicory and basil which, according to an ancient French physician, will cause scorpions to breed in your brain.

The longest war ever is between plants and herbivorous insects. While plagues of insects can damage or kill plants, the plants have developed weapons to fight back. Dandelions have sticky resin to gum up insect mouths, and this resin has been used to make tank tracks. Poisons such as nicotine are used, nettles have tiny stinging spines and many plants have more conventional spikes and thorns, including the innocent-looking rose.

Legend says that roses were once all-white, only turning red after blood was spilled on them but red roses have long been a symbol of love. The importance of roses to the ancient Romans is discussed, as is the elaborate flower language used by the Victorians.

Some plants attract insects, like the acacia that uses ants as protection. The passionflower vine deceives butterflies with dummy eggs, while the stone plant is camouflaged. According to ancient herbalists, a plant's appearance was symbolic of the illnesses it could cure. Other beliefs were less logical, such as the belief that a stolen potato in the pocket cures rheumatism. Many plants have medicinal benefits and have been used in traditional medicine, including the dandelion, willow, foxglove and periwinkle.

Carnivorous plants can spell sudden death. Pitcher plants attract insects with colour and nectar, drugging them so that they fall into a trap and drown in digestive juices. The Venus flytrap was once believed to have come from outer space, and uses touch-sensitive hairs to trigger its lightning-fast trap.

In springtime, flowers put on a show. They use bright colours to attract pollinating insects and birds, which get dusted in pollen before moving on to another flower. Humans entered a flower frenzy in the 17th century in Holland, when tulips became subject to a stock market until the government was finally forced to control prices. Flowers work better on insects, as many of the colours are visible under ultraviolet light which humans cannot see. The bee orchid uses a cunning mimicry trick to tempt male bees to try and mate with its flower. Some flowers, such as *Amorphophallus titanum* and *Rafflesia arnoldii*, smell bed. This helps attract pollinating flies and beetles.

In the human world, plants have always been important. The dandelion can be used in many different ways. Without plants, man would have very few of his modern inventions. Early voyages of discovery were mainly to find new plants, such as preserving spices. Over 7,000 new species of plant were discovered in the reign of King George III alone. A qualified botanist was an essential member of any voyage. One Australian landfall had so many new species it became known as Botany Bay. Botanists and plant collectors still scour the earth and oceans for new species but it does have its dangers, with one British botanist working with old specimens stung by a nettle that was 200 years old.

Some grasses don’t rely on insects but the wind to disperse their pollen. Unfortunately, it can find its way up noses and cause allergic reactions. When the pollen lands on another flower it fertilises it and results in seeds. A seed can compete with its parents on the ground, so it is better if they can travel away from their parent. Dandelion and sycamore seeds can fly, the squirting cucumber uses jet propulsion and some seed pods explode. Primitive plants like ferns produce tiny spores that drift in the breeze. Plants can use animals, such as the spiky seeds of burdock and the many plants that wrap their seeds in fruit for an animal to eat. Some plants can just send out shoots from the parent plant, including the creosote plant that uses this method to colonise vast areas of California desert.

Even in our modern synthetic age, our dependence on plants is complete. Plants supply almost everything we use. Potatoes were once thought inedible by the French, until the revolution when Louis XVI's private potato field was raided. Plants are vital – without them, Earth couldn’t support life. Plants produce the oxygen we need to survive. If plants didn’t absorb carbon dioxide, it would build up and turn Earth into a greenhouse leading to severe global warming, floods, fires, famine and catastrophe. Plants are nature’s air conditioners, with even a simple garden hedge providing more than enough oxygen for an average family. And as one season of a plant’s life comes to an end, another adventure begins.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Chinese oak silk moth, *Antheraea pernyi*
* House mouse, *Mus musculus*
* Imperial scorpion, *Pandinus imperator*
* Postman butterfly, *Heliconius sp*.
* Corn snake, *Pantherophis guttatus*
* Brown rat, *Rattus norvegicus*
* Indian flying fox, *Pteropus giganteus*
* European rabbit, *Oryctolagus cuniculus*
* Common hill myna, *Gracula religiosa*
* Tufted capuchin monkey, *Cebus apella*
* Southern mealy amazon, *Amazona farinosa*
* Domestic pig, *Sus domesticus*

### Stock footage

* Domestic pig, *Sus domesticus*
* Tree frog, Hylidae
* Tiger-legged leaf frog, *Pithecopus hypochondrialis*
* Wattled jacana, *Jacana jacana*
* Harbour seal, *Phoca vitulina*
* Long-snouted seahorse, *Hippocampus guttulatus*
* Sargassumfish, *Histrio histrio*
* Postman butterfly, *Heliconius sp*.
* Greenfly, *Myzus persicae*
* Colorado potato beetle, *Leptinotarsa decemlineata*
* Migratory locust, *Locusta migratoria*
* Monarch butterfly, *Danaus plexippus*
* Winter moth, *Operophtera brumata*
* Song thrush, *Turdus philomelos*
* Olive baboon, *Papio anubis*
* European rabbit, *Oryctolagus cuniculus*
* Common chuckwalla, *Sauromalus ater*
* Cocktail ant, *Crematogaster sp*.
* Reticulated giraffe, *Giraffa reticulata*
* Geometric tortoise, *Psammobates geometricus*
* Chimpanzee, *Pan troglodytes*
* Hoverfly, Syrphidae
* Bluebottle, *Calliphora vomitoria*
* Meadow brown butterfly, *Maniola jurtina*
* White-tailed bumblebee, *Bombus lucorum*
* Red-tailed bumblebee, *Bombus lapidarius*
* Western honeybee, *Apis mellifera*
* Emperor swallowtail butterfly, *Papilio ophidicephalus*
* Hummingbird, Trochilidae
* Common carder bumblebee, *Bombus pascuorum*
* Iris fly, *Prosoeca peringueyi*
* Domestic dog, *Canis familiaris*

## Stock footage sources

The Private Life of Plants (1995)

* Travelling - Field of dandelions, growing bramble, burdock seeds on dog
* Growing - Growing ferns, CGI of inside plant, giraffe browsing, Heliconius butterfly and passion vine, stone plant and tortoise, stinging nettle close-up, Venus flytrap catching bug
* Flowering - Blooming flowers, iris flies, Titan arum
* Living Together - Cocktail and acacia ants, dodder, Rafflesia
* Surviving - Giant water lily and jacana

Lifesense: Partners for Life (1991) – Pigs ploughing gardens

## Credits

* Director - Brian Cummins
* Writer - David Stafford
* Music - Guy Dagul
* Graphics Director - Jean Cramond
* Graphic Design - Elaine Stroud and Steve Cope
* Camera - Robert Payton and James Clarke
* Set Design and Visual Effects - Chris Reynolds and Andy David
* Research - Catherine Gryparis
* Production Co-ordinators - Jessica Powell and Bella Thoyts
* Production Team - Philip Whelan, Jackie Byrne and Sandra Brown
* Unit Manager - Teresa Watts
* 3-D Animation - Paul Kavanagh and Andy McNamara
* Off-line Editor - Frank Riches
* Online Editor - Andy Quested
* Dubbing Mixer - Craig Irving and Kian Wong

## Making this programme

The ‘making-of’ programme specific to Plant has not been uploaded online, but it is part of the Making of Eyewitness 3: Worlds programme. The Plant section of this episode shows how the storyboard artist visualises and maps out each scene, in this case for the green man sequence. Once the storyboard artist had drawn out the scene, the graphics team got to work creating it. They started with a 3D wireframe of a person, which could then be added to and textured until the final form of the green man, complete with blossoming flowers and vines growing from his mouth, comes to life.

## Home media releases

As well as being released on VHS, Plant was released as a DVD in the USA and as one of the free DVDs provided with the UK's Daily Mirror newspaper.

Eyewitness Plant America-release DVD coverEyewitness Plant Daily Mirror DVD cover

**Writing staff**: Anne MacLeod • Ben Southwell • Ben Steiner • Brian Meehl • David Hanson • David Stafford • David Helton • George Bloom • Lynette Singer • Mike Tomlinson • Paul Thomas • Stan Cullimore
**Directors**: Gavin Maxwell • Justine Kershaw • David Hutt • Andrew Jackson • Justin Hardy • Ludo Graham • Jerry Foulkes • Derek Hall • Sanjida O'Connell • Caius Julyan • Bonni Cohen • Leanne Pooley • Edwina Vardey • Alexandra Beazley • Sam Hodgkin • Karen Walsh • Jack Weber • Richard Simkin • Alex Hearle • Brian Cummins • Ben Southwell
**Composers**: Guy Michelmore (season one) • Guy Dagul (seasons two and three)

**Season One**: Cat • Fish • Horse • Dog • Jungle • Bird • Amphibian • Insect • Shark • Elephant • Reptile • Dinosaur • Skeleton
**Season Two**: Desert • Tree • Ape • Mammal • Butterfly and Moth • Volcano • Rock and Mineral • Seashore • Pond and River • Weather • Arctic and Antarctic • Prehistoric Life • Shell
**Season Three**: Flight • Bear • Sight • Island • Survival • Mountain • Monster • Human Machine - **Plant** • Ocean • Planets • Life • Natural Disasters