Spider plants are one of those common household plants you probably have in your home right now. They are demarcated by their long green arms that dangle baby plants like a proud mama cradling her child. Research suggests that the cradling action may be something akin to actual cradling or, more specifically, a type of maternal care previously unobserved in plant life.
In a recent preprint posted to bioRxiv, researchers studying Chlorophytum comosum, a.k.a. the spider plant, found that cutting the thin stem connecting a mother spider plant to its offspring, known as the stolon, almost always killed the developing baby spider plant. The stolon is much more than a set of “arms” that hold the developing baby spider plant in place. It’s more of a mammalian placenta and umbilical cord.
Parental care is common among animals, and they are often seen as hands-off parents. They drop seeds, hope for rain, and the rest is up to chance. Some plants do a little but more to ensure the propagation of the species, but post-birth care isn’t really a thing in the plant world. Spider plants are a unique case, however.
They reproduce asexually, growing a daughter plant directly from the parent via runners, those little stringy bits of plant that jut off in different directions, looking for something to latch onto to keep growing.
Spider Plants May Practice a Form of Maternal Care, Scientists Say
The researchers closely analyzed mother plants and attached baby spider plants, tracking anatomy, biochemistry, and stress responses. They found that young spider plants first develop the ability to photosynthesize, then slowly establish roots.
During this phase, the stolon supplies water, nutrients, and chemical signals. When conditions are harsh, such as during a drought or when root growth fails, the mother plant keeps the connection alive longer. Once the offspring can survive on its own, the link naturally withers.
In other words, the mother plant makes its own babies, and then it adjusts its support based on its child’s needs. That is a hallmark of maternal behavior.
The authors argue this is the first experimental evidence of maternal care in plants, but since baby spider plants are genetic clones, it raises the question of whether it’s really taking care of a baby or just taking care of itself.
Will let the scientists and philosophers debate that one. For now, take heart in knowing that there is at least one plant out there coddling its offspring like the adorable babies that they are.
The post Spider Plants Might Have Their Own Version of a Placenta and Umbilical Cord, Study Finds appeared first on VICE.
