Smooth Solomon's Seal
A huge version
of the common Smooth Solomon’s Seal arches over the end of the River Trail.
This fern-like plant is common in our woods, but most Solomon’s seal
plants are a foot tall or even shorter. Here and there, though,
you will stumble across gigantic versions, up to seven feet tall.
What makes one Solomon’s seal a measly foot tall and others seven times
that size? The answer lies within.
No, not
strength of will --- number of chromosomes. Remember how humans
have two chromosomes that determine our sex, the X and the Y?
Humans, and most plants, have two versions of every other chromosome as
well, one set from their mother and one set from their father.
When a sperm unites with an egg, the 23 chromosomes from our mother
join with the 23 chromosomes from our father and we end up with 23
pairs of chromosomes (or 46 individual chromosomes.) As a result, we are
called diploid organisms, meaning that we have two sets of chromosomes.
Sometimes,
though, things go wrong. Accidents deep within our cells may
result in either the sperm or the egg coming with an extra set of
chromosomes, a condition called polyploidy. In humans, polyploidy
is bad news since our bodies cannot handle the extra chromosomes ---
polyploid infants usually die before or soon after birth.
Unlike humans
(and most animals), plants do not seem to be harmed by
polyploidy. In fact, scientists estimate that 30-80% of plants
may be polyploid, with some containing three, four, six, or even eight
sets of chromosomes. In the plant world, being polyploid can even
be considered an advantage since polyploid plants tend to be bigger,
like the polyploid version of Smooth Solomon’s Seal seen along the
River Trail. Many of our fruits and vegetables are similarly
endowed, like the garden strawberry that has much larger fruits than
its ancestors in part because of being octoploid --- each cultivated
strawberry plant has eight sets of chromosomes. Other polyploid
crop plants include potatoes, wheat, and apples. As the old
saying goes, if it doesn’t kill us, it makes us stronger!
Not
pictured:
Smooth
Solomon’s Seal
Scientific
Name: Polygonatum biflorum
Family:
Convallariaceae (Lily-of-the-Valley Family)
Habitat:
Moist forests
Blooms:
May to June
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