Original air date: 7 December 2009
The following shows a detailed timeline of the episode
The timeline shows what happened in the programme
Selected material
Oldest living thing on earth
The bristlecone pine is 14,000 years old, the previously oldest one – the creosote bush (Living Planet’s Baking Deserts). It turns out to be “only” 11,700 years old.
Venus’s flytrap
The bog, where it grows, is too poor in nitrogen so it gets that nutrient through food supplements, insects
The insects have to be the right size, otherwise they might squeese through
Spreading the seeds
The main reason seeds are spread as far away from parent as possible is to avoid them competing for resources. Ironically the offspring might even land in an area that is better suited for growth than its parent’s location.
Behind the scenes
The making of the opening sequence
The sequence may look simple enough but bearing in mind that having all those plants flowering in sequence and weather remaining constant for months is asking for too much. The outdoor filming was accomplished after mapping every detail (top frame) in the landscape and copying them indoors where conditions could be controlled at normal pace.