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/sci/ - Science & Math

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4431009 No.4431009 [Reply] [Original]

Do plants suffer from overweight?

Serious question, already asked this in /an/ but that board is way too fucking slow.

>> No.4431015

Bump

>> No.4431018

Bump again

>> No.4431019

Depends, I guess.
I've seen some branches on trees snap because they became too long/large but they aren't exactly going to die from a heart attack due to weight related issues.

>> No.4431021

In some ways, yes.

If we say that overweight is: Too much mass to have a shorter lifespan and/or unable to do things because of too high accumulation of nutrition.

If a plant grows too big, it will not be able to sustain itself on smaller pieces of land. (Say if someone dug away the earth around it.)
If it is too big, it may fall over.

But I don't think there will be problems similar to heart disease because the means of transportation would not get clogged like cholesterol does to our bodies.

Disclaimer: I'm not qualified to answer this, mostly guesswork.

>> No.4431025
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4431025

Yes, fattest tree in world.

>> No.4431061

>>4431021
cholesterol doesn't clog your system.

Overweight isn't a real problem. Not for species living in the wild at least. Because they are always challenged in such a way that the "exceeding" mass will stagnate. It's always a matter of equilibrium. The bigger you get, the more you need to consume. But you somehow reach some limits. Either limits of nutrients. Or limits of your abilities to move and survive. In the case of superfat humans, those limits don't exist, so almost nothing prevents them from getting fatter. I hope I got everything to be clear!

>> No.4431067

>>4431019
>>4431021
Then do plants actually suffer, i.e. feel pain or uneasy, due to their fatness too?

>> No.4431349

>>4431019
>>4431021
>>4431061
Besides, plants don't have hearts.

... do they?

>> No.4431355

Can plants feel? Are they sentient?

>> No.4431382
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4431382

>>4431355
Who let Cleve Backster in?

>> No.4431422

No plants don't suffer from obesity. There doesn't exist a mechanism for it. Obesity is observed in humans as well as domesticated animals. This is predicated on abundance or food as well as psychological problems (in people. animals just eat because they can) as well as lack of exercise.
These factors do not exist in nature and so trees or other wild animals cannot become obese.

I'm also unsure if plants could be made obese artificially be overfeeding them because I can't think of a physiological mechanism to accomplish this.

>> No.4431431

ITT: OP makes it evident he is a moron

>> No.4431434

>>4431355
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormonal_sentience

>> No.4431436

You can baby a plant with perfect conditions to the point where it is too big to support its weight.

then you stake it.

>> No.4431457

>>4431422
That's a stupid argument. Every animal has the potential to become obese under the right circumstances, not only domesticated species. Keep a lion in an environment with abundant food, watch how long it takes for it to become overweight.

In the same way you could have a plant in an incredibly nutrient-rich environment, with enough water and usable light. The question is, does their metabolism have a mechanism analogue to an animal's fat storage?

>> No.4431464

>>4431422
>implying plants can't grow muscles

>>4431431
>implying asking question is a stupid person

>> No.4431475

>>4431457
The OP is "Do plants suffer from overweight?"

I took that to mean "does it happen in nature?"

My entire point is it depends on conditions and the abundance of food etc. so you are simultaneously agreeing with my point and calling it stupid.

>>4431436
This is interesting.

>> No.4431497

>>4431457

certain plants store away nutrients in the form of starch, a good example of this is plant an radish, beet, or a carrot in the best soil, that has been properly aerated, in partial shade, and gets the right amount of water and watch how well it grows.

>> No.4431502

>>4431475

My mistake, I thought you were arguing that since it only happens to humans and domesticated animals, it can't happen to plants. We agree then.

>> No.4431521

>>4431497
I actually immediately thought of this after clicking submit, although I thought of potatoes and tubers in general. To my knowledge this can't have negative consequences, though. Am I mistaken?

>> No.4431540

>>4431521
too many nutrients in the soil will burn/kill the plants so unless your going completely organic with compost ect. your only going to kill your plant by over-saturation.

>> No.4431639

>>4431540
I thought plants would auto regulate the nutrition absorption?