Jul 18 2012

Botanical Wednesday: a pleasant thought

Categories:

Organisms

by PZ Myers

Plants are just covered with these.

(via Visuals Unlimited)

Tags: apophenia, botany is always pornographic, vulvae

30 comments

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1

chigau (女性)

18 July 2012 at 7:22 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

god made plants first, right?
So lady-bits are just a copy.
2

A. R

18 July 2012 at 7:23 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

We’re back to this again I see. :)
3

Ramel

18 July 2012 at 7:27 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I assume you mean “evil looking reptile eyes”?
4

WMDKitty (Always growing and learning)

18 July 2012 at 7:31 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Whoa. Yonic.
5

carlie

18 July 2012 at 7:39 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Great. I’ve been looking at stomata for decades and never thought that.

Now I’ll never be able to think of anything else.
6

Glen Davidson

18 July 2012 at 7:42 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

God’s a fourteen-year old boy, apparently.

Glen Davidson
7

'Tis Himself

18 July 2012 at 7:54 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Stomas are nice enough, I suppose, particularly if you’re a plant, but I wouldn’t call them a “pleasant thought.” They just don’t seem thoughtful to me.
8

Markita Lynda—damn climate change!

18 July 2012 at 7:54 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Get your mind into the gutter, ‘Tis!
9

Happiestsadist

18 July 2012 at 7:58 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

And people wonder why I’m a vegetarian.
10

Trebuchet

18 July 2012 at 8:07 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Is that a pussywillow? (Sorry, first thing that came into my head.)

@PZ: Is Mary dropping you hints?
11

Josh, Official SpokesGay

18 July 2012 at 8:31 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

And people wonder why I’m a ~~vegetarian~~ vagitarian.

Fixed.
12

Happiestsadist

18 July 2012 at 8:34 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Well played, SpokesGay.
13

nohellbelowus

18 July 2012 at 8:55 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

What? Covered with chameleon eyes?

Covered with the Eyes of Sauron?

Quickly Professor Myers, remove the One Ring from your finger!!!
14

a3kr0n

18 July 2012 at 9:03 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Guard cells!
Sweet.
15

A. R

18 July 2012 at 9:23 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

The “Eye of Sauron” does look like a giant flaming vagina floating above a tower.
16

some bastard on the net

18 July 2012 at 10:10 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

And now I’ll never watch LOTR again.
17

navigator

18 July 2012 at 10:23 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I wonder what would happen if I used that as my wallpaper at work?
18

The Dancing Monk

19 July 2012 at 2:16 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

It looks a bit like the Blessed Virgin Mary
19

madscientist

19 July 2012 at 3:17 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Mmm, stomata. I swear it’s not the only thing which attracts people to botany – there are other interesting things like Amorphophallus titanum.
20

Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven

19 July 2012 at 4:30 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

It seems to be missing a “bud” though. O.o
21

Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven

19 July 2012 at 4:31 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

And people wonder why I’m a ~~vegetarian~~ vagitarian.

Fixed.

I wonder what a “Vagan” would be?
22

gussnarp

19 July 2012 at 7:56 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

@nohellbelowus:

Covered with the Eyes of Sauron?

I’m glad I’m not the only one who saw that. On the other hand, a friend of mine posted a picture of a cake decorated with the Eye of Sauron on Facebook and it was the first time I thought, whoah, why did you want a vulva cake?
23

David Marjanović

19 July 2012 at 8:06 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Great. I’ve been looking at stomata for decades and never thought that.

Now I’ll never be able to think of anything else.

Seconded (except I’ve seen a lot fewer stomata than you).
24

Antiochus Epiphanes

19 July 2012 at 8:38 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Plants are just covered with these

Not liverworts.

Also, what is the deal with you people? Prurient bunch.
25

AlanMac

19 July 2012 at 9:18 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Hey guys, if you put 58008 in your calculator and look at it upside down it says “BOOBS”! hehehe
26

Ogvorbis: Dogmaticus sycophantus

19 July 2012 at 10:25 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Many years ago, when Girl was in about 9th grade, Wife and I had the following surreal experience:

The phone rang, and my wife answered the phone. I only heard one side of the conversation:

“No, she’s at rehearsal.

“Now THAT’S a loaded question.

“I’ll ask. Bill, what’s a stomata and a stoma?”

I gave a great husband response. “Huh?”

“R is on the phone. He’s working on his bio homework and he’s having problems understanding stomata.”

I thought for a moment, and then said, “It’s the pores on the bottom of the leaf that allows carbon dioxide in and oxygen out. The pore has two cells which open and close by swelling.”

She explained it on the phone. I could tell by the way she was explaining it that he didn’t quite understand a hole opening or closing. “Think of it as a butthole, but instead of the sphincter, it has two cells which get bigger or smaller to open or close the whole.” That satisfied him.

Then I had to ask, “What was a loaded question?”

“Oh,” she answered, “He asked if I knew anything about biology.” We laughed. A couple of possible comebacks were tossed around: “We’ve got two kids, so that would be a yes”; or, “Yeah, but we got it fixed.”

Apart from this being a remarkably surreal conversation, it made us feel pretty damn good that our kids friends will call us for help with homework, even if our kid isn’t at home.

Of course, later on, I realized that the perfect response to “What’s a stomata?” would have been, “Nothing. What’s a stomata wit’ you?”
27

No One

19 July 2012 at 12:47 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Convergent evolution.
28

lorn

19 July 2012 at 2:20 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Never tried a green one before. That is a pretty one. In the spirit of JTK I shall try one on if she is willing.

No fair, you get a boy up for the game and then it comes to light it is waaaay to small to handle the action. This assuming a plant can give consent. Dirty pool dude … way dirty pool.
29

Sili (I have no penis and I must jizz)

19 July 2012 at 3:25 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Looks a bit too big for me. Like the proverbial hotdog down the corridor.
30

Atticus Dogsbody

19 July 2012 at 6:55 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Plants are covered in green abalone? Don’t tell the vegans.