Albino Redwoods: Evolutionary Experiments in Toxin Absorption

Key Quotes

"Reporters described them as quote freaks of nature multiple farmers claimed to have one on their property and mendocino county even got into a fight with neighboring marin county over which of them owned the only white redwood in the state at the time the trees were seen as a bit of an oddity and to me reading these articles it kind of felt like people wanted to claim this rare icon like they were asserting their stake in california which recently had just been granted statehood"

This passage highlights the historical perception of albino redwoods as curiosities, even prompting territorial disputes between counties. The reporter suggests this desire to claim the rare trees reflected a broader need for people to assert their connection to California after its recent statehood.

"Albino redwoods shouldn't exist if you think about it they're white because they're missing chlorophyll that's the key pigment that gives trees their green color and chlorophyll is like the solar panel for the tree or maybe more accurately like the solar cell in that panel taking in sunlight and turning it into energy but albino redwoods don't have this"

Plant biologist Zane Moore explains that albino redwoods are biologically improbable because they lack chlorophyll, the essential pigment for photosynthesis. Moore uses the analogy of chlorophyll acting as a solar cell to illustrate its critical role in energy production for trees.

"This is the fastest growing tree out there that exists the redwoods can put on close to two tons of wood a year a single tree can do that so they're crazy good at photosynthesis and yet they produce these like bizarre little white sprouts that shouldn't exist so for me that's interesting because we like to think that everything has its purpose in nature"

Zane Moore expresses his fascination with albino redwoods, emphasizing the paradox of their existence. He points out that redwoods are exceptionally efficient at photosynthesis and rapid growth, making the appearance of non-photosynthetic white sprouts seem counterintuitive and challenging the notion that all natural phenomena have a clear purpose.

"Redwoods have a huge genome so for example we have 3 billion base pairs those are the fundamental units of a genome and kind of how you measure the size well redwoods in comparison have about 27 billion base pairs nine times bigger than ours and we have two chromosomes well redwoods they have six that gives them more backup copies what all this boils down to is that redwoods have a big complex genome and that means a bigger genetic code to shuffle around and pick up mutations and that can lead to all sorts of variations in their saplings and even their branches"

The reporter explains that the large and complex genome of redwood trees, with significantly more base pairs and chromosomes than humans, provides a greater capacity for genetic variation. This extensive genetic code increases the likelihood of mutations, which can manifest as diverse traits in their offspring and branches.

"Albino redwoods are just indicative of this larger thing of like redwood trees mutate like crazy this tinkering is what makes albino redwoods so adaptable they're exploring new versions of themselves new ways to respond to their changing environment albinos are one very eye catching example of this tinkering happening within a redwood but they can't make their own food so they depend on their parent tree for their entire lifetime"

The reporter interprets Zane Moore's perspective, suggesting that albino redwoods are a striking example of the extensive mutation and adaptation occurring within redwood trees. Moore views these mutations as a form of evolutionary exploration, allowing redwoods to experiment with new traits, though albino variants remain dependent on their parent trees for survival.

"Zane compared green and albino sprigs and he found that the albinos had a higher concentration of toxins like nickel and sulfur so like the white can handle a heavier heavy metal load metals like this are soluble in water which is why they can be a problem for plants or for anything so maybe these albinos are a kind of reservoir absorbing the harmful elements so the rest of the tree can continue photosynthesizing"

The reporter presents Zane Moore's theory that albino redwoods might serve a protective function for the parent tree. Moore's research indicated that albino sprigs contain higher levels of toxins like nickel and sulfur, suggesting they could act as reservoirs, absorbing harmful elements and allowing the rest of the tree to continue photosynthesis.