Do you ever look at a particular plant and wonder how it might fare if it was faced with a hotter … or wetter … or drier environment?
You know, and I know, that plants are amazing in their ability to adapt to change. In fact, they are more robust than people – many of them have been around for much longer than us after all!
For example, humans have been on our planet for possible around 6 million years, but if you consider the Banksia,
- the oldest fossil pollen records date between 65 and 59 million years old,
- there are fossil leaves between 59 and 56 million years old found in southern New South Wales, and
- the oldest fossil cones are between 47.8 and 41.2 million years old, found in Western Australia.
That is truly amazing … and it’s definitely something worth pondering.
Banksias’ have successfully adapted to the changes imposed by the globe for millions of years; however, some of them are now struggling because of us. But, I think they will survive. Can we adapt as effectively?