(are miniature hoses)

Obviousness should not always “go without saying.”  In nature, obvious everyday experiences have plenty of beauty and wonder, and can sometimes prompt new explorations.   There’s no “eureka” in observing that rainwater trickles to the bases of plants.  Yet  it’s fun to go out after a rainshower and see where the drops drip. Plants are giant funnels.

Direct water capture is critical to some species, such as tank plant epiphytes.

Photo by John Bradford

But what’s arguably more fascinating are the more “iffy” cases.   Is there a correlation between dry habitats and plant funnel-ness?   Haven’t “done the math,” but, probably:   think Yucca in Yucatan. In other species, funnel abilities might be a mere advantage,  or sometimes the opposite. 

By JB

Many plants have “winged stems”:   blackroot, crownbeard,  winged elm, and many more. These often have “winged” or “alata” in their names.   Do the wings help channel water?  

Winged stem on crownbeard. By JB

I wonder if the corky wing in Corkystem Passionvine might absorb water into the climbing stem without recycling all the way down to the roots.   Or if the spongy bark on Peelbark St. Johnswort helps with water storage and evaporative cooling.  Ants love that species;  maybe soggy bark is why.

Coincidental association of tree and small plants at its feet, or nurse tree in action?

Nurse trees aid smaller plants around their bases.  Lots of ways a big plant may benefit a little pal, including funneling water to its base.  Vines climbing a tree may have a double plus:  a free ride up into the sun, and free water running down the host tree to the spot where both are rooted.

Ever notice how fire ant nests center around large grass clumps?   Betcha rain collection at the grass base helps wet their whistle.  And speaking of “grass,” a clump of hurricane-“grass” has lots of little sedge funnels around a big spongy tussock.    Does the “sponge” store and distribute the captured water? 

Plants in your ants.

Bald Cypress grows mostly in swamps comfortably free of water deficiency.    Its close relative Pond Cypress, by contrast, often occupies open places prone to seasonal drying.  Do its upright twigs and upright leaves help with seasonal water needs?

Big flat fluted semi-upright cabbage palm and saw palmetto leaves, in addition to being sun-catchers, sure look like water catchers.  Somebody should measure stemflow down a cabbage palm trunk.   All those vines, mosses, and ferns on the trunk love it.

Who knows.  Very little about external water dynamics has received formal study.  That just means “more freedom” to wander, wonder, speculate, and discover.