antimatterbee's Journal

Will be updated as I find new ones.

https://ento.psu.edu/news/one-of-the-most-common-north-american-bumble-bee-species-is-actually-two-species

I find it baffling that plants of any kind are able to grow out of common ornamental bushes, although I have noted they exhibit differences as though they were forced to adapt to being surrounded by...bush. They must be anchored to the ground as neither common dandelions nor creeping thistles are parasitic: this indicates that they are significantly taller than their kin found in open areas, which are low-growing(maybe ankle-height). This is speculation on my part, but it seems as if they underwent some sort of "growth spurt"(loosely speaking) to reach a height where their leaves and flowers would be positioned above the bush and take in sunlight or facilitate reproduction, respectively. It's possible that the bush allows them to maintain this height since its density combined with their position within it provides structural support. However, the lingering question of how the plants coexist without killing each other remains, seeing as they all require nutrients from the soil and water to survive. The possibilities seem to be that they require different nutrients from the soil, or that the nutrients they require are plentiful enough that both plants are able to take what they need without endangering the total supply.