The Private Life of Plants

Previous Episode

S01E06: Surviving

David Attenborough reaches the climax of his journey into the world of plants. The final programme looks at the amazing variety of ingenious techniques plants have invented to survive even the coldest Arctic wastes and the driest, hottest deserts. Time-lapse sequences reveal giant water lilies rampaging across the Amazon, mangroves that care for their babies, and plants that survive only by devouring animals.

Overview

Without plants, there would be no food, no animals of any sort, no life on earth at all. Yet for most of the time their lives remain a secret to us, hidden, private events.The reason is merely a difference of time. Plants live on a different time-scale from ours. Though not obviously to the naked eye, they are constantly on the move: developing, fighting, avoiding or exploiting predators or neighbours, struggling to find food, to increase their territories, to reproduce themselves, to find and hold a place in the sun. We only need to learn to look.

Episodes

Travelling

S01E01 Travelling

January 5, 1995 50 min
David Attenborough's incredible journey into the world of plants. By using advanced timelapse photography, the plants are shown as complex and highly active organisms - growing, fighting, competing, breeding and struggling to survive. This programme...
Growing

S01E02 Growing

January 12, 1995 50 min
David Attenborough presents time-lapse photography that reveals how new leaves fight for a place in the sun, and examines the ingenious methods that plants use to defend themselves from animal attack.
Flowering

S01E03 Flowering

January 19, 1995 50 min
Flowers are the most eye-catching feature of plants, but they are there for only one thing - sex. In order to procreate, a male seed from one flower must be carried to the female parts...
The Social Struggle

S01E04 The Social Struggle

January 26, 1995 50 min
David Attenborough looks at the extraordinary battles for survival that are fought in the plant world. Cameras reveal how plants use every trick in the book in a bid to come out on top, from...
Living Together

S01E05 Living Together

February 2, 1995 50 min
David Attenborough looks at the battle for survival in the plant world. Plants often rely on animals, fungi and each other for food, protection or a home - and they are not always grateful partners....
Surviving

S01E06 Surviving

February 9, 1995 50 min
David Attenborough reaches the climax of his journey into the world of plants. The final programme looks at the amazing variety of ingenious techniques plants have invented to survive even the coldest Arctic wastes and...

Cast

David Attenborough
David Attenborough
Self - Presenter

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