This Melon Builds a Whole Ecosystem in the Desert

Подписаться 8 млн

Просмотров 243 тыс.

50% 1

The nara melon is as juicy as any other, so how is it able to grow in the hyper-arid Namib desert?
SciShow is supported by Brilliant.org. Go to Brilliant.org/SciShow to get 20% off of an annual Premium subscription.
Hosted by: Michael Aranda
SciShow has a spinoff podcast! It's called SciShow Tangents. Check it out at www.scishowtangents.org
----------
Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: / scishow
----------
Huge thanks go to the following Patreon supporters for helping us keep SciShow free for everyone forever:
Bd_Tmprd, Jeffrey Mckishen, James Knight, Christoph Schwanke, Jacob, Matt Curls, Sam Buck, Christopher R Boucher, Eric Jensen, Lehel Kovacs, Adam Brainard, Greg, Sam Lutfi, Piya Shedden, Katie Marie Magnone, Scott Satovsky Jr, Charles Southerland, Charles george, Alex Hackman, Chris Peters, Kevin Bealer
----------
Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?
Facebook: / scishow
Twitter: / scishow
Tumblr: / scishow
Instagram: / thescishow
----------
Sources:
www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregi... www.nature.com/articles/srep1... linkinghub.elsevier.com/retri... www.sciencedirect.com/science... www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/... uses.plantnet-project.org/en/...) books.google.com/books?id=-TI... repository.nwu.ac.za/bitstrea... www.sciencedirect.com/science... citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/... www.dw.com/en/over-1000-years... www.sciencedirect.com/science... www.nature.com/articles/s4159...
Image Sources:
www.istockphoto.com/photo/aer... commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... FabrizioPlasencia commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... www.storyblocks.com/video/sto... www.storyblocks.com/video/sto... commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

Опубликовано:

10 авг 2020

Ссылка:

Скачать:

Готовим ссылку...

Добавить в:

Мой плейлист

Посмотреть позже

Комментарии : 499

@SciShow 3 года назад

SciShow is supported by Brilliant.org. Go to Brilliant.org/SciShow to get 20% off of an annual Premium subscription.

@yetanothertop589 3 года назад

What is brilliant about?

@kirbyak47 3 года назад

@@yetanothertop589 humans don't want plant it free they want your money lol

@yetanothertop589 3 года назад

@@kirbyak47 I will volunteer to plant trees

@fiffihoneyblossom5891 3 года назад

Namibian here, if anyone was wondering: it tastes like a very sour cucumber. Though not exactly tasty, it is very refreshing. It's super juicy. It's also not the only kind of plant that fruits here. All desert melons I know of are hard shelled and not edible. But the narra is edible as well as another, we just call it "monkey brains" and I dont know its proper name. It doesnt quite grow in the heart of the Namib like the narra, but technically on the Namib desert outskirts. It's super sweet, I cant even finish a whole one on my own before I'm sugared out. But kids love it. All melons in the namib grow the same way, low to the ground and barely, if any, leaves.

@Plotatothewondercat 3 года назад

The narra sounds nice to me. I like sour cucumbers.

@kylestanley7843 3 года назад

Thank you for the native insight! That's fascinating.

@acloud7604 3 года назад

Finally, I now know.

@Temp0raryName 3 года назад

Thanks for the interesting info. Your name is quite appropriate, for someone who likes sweet fruits.

@Ingcivilcarlos 3 года назад

Awesome! Thanks for this elaborate description. I was already looking up where to find one and eat it lol

@a-goblin 3 года назад

it's a mix of _"life, uh, finds a way"_ and _"it's the quenchiest!"_

@SiriumDivision 3 года назад

Watch out for the ghost serpent piercing your bowels... Or sorry it's closer to zombie 🍆

@hellNo116 3 года назад

I was looking for sokka comment. Was not disappointed

@davidbarnett342 3 года назад

Lmao

@567secret 3 года назад

"it's the quenchiest!" Thank you, you made me smile today.

@DavidCruickshank 3 года назад

Friendly mushroom! Giant mushy friend!

@shade9592 3 года назад

Basically, for a plant to be able to grow a large fruit in the desert, it has to be an absolute unit of a plant.

@spacemoth4973 3 года назад

Absolute melon unit

@saumyashah7978 3 года назад

Can we just take a moment appreciate the fact that SciShow uses the metric system? Thanks from all your international viewers.

@zell189 3 года назад

Thanks from your *B I G B R A I N* international viewers

@ptonpc 3 года назад

Indeed!

@lostinthewoods2010 3 года назад

I was like: i can understand now? How?

@lilaclizard4504 3 года назад

gotta say I also didn't notice it, was just enjoying the video :) I certainly used to notice & get frustrated when it wasn't though, so I will join you in the thank you :) Common problem isn't it, when something goes right, we just take it for granted, meaning the squeaky wheel to get the oil works against us

@mannuelosio1528 3 года назад

They do it because the metric system is the best way a scientist can get results. Not because of the viewers.

@MorganBrown 3 года назад

Masters thesis from hell: the grad student who dug to 50 m to conclude that the roots go that deep

@spacemoth4973 3 года назад

That person deserves a medal. Perhaps with a melon on it.

@TheKasimkage 3 года назад

Space Moth Could they be considered a “Melon Lord”?

@HBCrigs 3 года назад

Imagine being so vigilant that you create a better world for the critters around you

@anarchywon4170 3 года назад

That's what I try to do everyday my friend.

@DylanFergusC 3 года назад

Goals

@lobstersonskateboards3988 3 года назад

we need people like that nowadays :pensive:

@abyssal_phoenix 3 года назад

I do that actually. I breed and cultivate flowers and fruits and other native plants to then plant them into nature. Different kinds of insects like butterflies and bees benefit from me, just like hares, deers, weasels, and small singing birds. Which leads to me helping hawks, foxes, frogs and ants too. Nowadays singing birds watch me while I’m outside, to see which plants I’m going to do. Now I’m busy with trying to bring some apricots into the mix too. I want to see how native fauna reacts to it. Then I experiments with planting 1 out into the wild. And I check if it doesn’t hurt other plants.

@abyssal_phoenix 3 года назад

Thanks to me squirrels also slowly return here, together with trekking birds who usually skip this place because there is little food, also the bird of prey population doubled. From 2 to 5. My friends even say they soon dinosaur will return thanks to me😂

@Master_Therion 3 года назад

Well, you know the saying, "When life gives you melons... you're dyslexic."

@kylestanley7843 3 года назад

Gave me a laugh with that one, good job lmao

@Temp0raryName 3 года назад

Nice one!

@pierreabbat6157 3 года назад

No lemons, no melon.

@allhumansarejusthuman.5776 3 года назад

I don't get it. They say when life gives you lemons make melonaid Oh wait 😯 I'm dyslexic!

@treborironwolfe978 3 года назад

Brilliant! ;)

@kingdmind 3 года назад

_”It’s the quenchiest!”_

@Zereze 3 года назад

*"its very thirst quenching tho! Drink at this juice itll quench at ya. Nothings quenchier! Its the quenchiest!"* *"Who put Toph on fire?!"* *"How did we get here in the middle of the ocean?"* *"Its a giant mushroom, maybe its friendly! Friendly mushroom! Mushy giant friend!"* idk why i put all the lyrics but its *funni*

@DanielSolis 3 года назад

I keep reading this title as a taunting insult. "Look at this friggin melon, building an ecosystem in the friggin desert!"

@Felix.Wingfield 3 года назад

It's doing it's own permaculture!

@JoeMamasBestie 3 года назад

Too many facebook articles

@beesgold1487 3 года назад

*IMAGINE*

@lyndsaybrown8471 3 года назад

Me too. Melon is much more impressive than me.

@treborironwolfe978 3 года назад

*The Nara Plant* -- When ryegrass meets slime mold.

@AzurenBlue 3 года назад

@Adriel R ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

@spacemoth4973 3 года назад

Plant Objective: *e x p a n d*

@chudbabies 3 года назад

first result in google for, 'Nara Melon,' "How to grow a Nara Melon."

@meetaverma8372 3 года назад

I wanna check it out now

@toastie4848 3 года назад

It's the gardeningknowhow april 4 2018 isn't it?

@FlyingDwarfman 3 года назад

Not my results. First hit was its wikipedia page. Now... #2 is the "How to Grow a Nara Melon"

@eugenetswong 3 года назад

@@FlyingDwarfman with Yahoo!, it is the second result, too.

@alveolate 3 года назад

geez you guys... search engines run off of countless cookies and algorithms - your results are tailored to your history.

@lillian8951 3 года назад

I see the Hyrdomelon from Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild is real.

@karlbischof2807 3 года назад

Sokka wasnt high on cactus juice

@evelien2375 3 года назад

I was looking for this comment

@fixnoamoi 3 года назад

@@evelien2375 Me too!

@ulti-mantis 3 года назад

The people of Nintendo must do a lot of research for a game like that

@jkbenbot9305 3 года назад

Or JOJO Part 8's Rokaka Fruit

@EvocativeKitsune 3 года назад

This sounds like something that would grow on Arrakis.

@dunefreak 3 года назад

Imo, With the lifespan of the plant and how deep the roots grow, a worm would almost certainly disrupt their growth.

@andrejansen3281 3 года назад

Whoever controls the melon controls the universe

@soaringvulture 3 года назад

@@dunefreak If they grow without rhythm, they won't attract the worm.

@ratoim 2 года назад

@@andrejansen3281 The melon must grow.

@jacobsalahiy6555 3 года назад

Wow, imagine that there actually are plants that can survive in such harsh conditions. Amazing strategies!

@bharris591 3 года назад

Read Dune

@yumri4 3 года назад

Sadly the ones who can will be the ones which are still there in 100 years as the world is warming and the climates around the world are moving and changing with it. Maybe plant life will just like move to where they can survive but i am pretty sure that the deserts will stay deserts.

@AverytheCubanAmerican 3 года назад

Desert: exists Melon: This bad boy can fit so much life

@droulias 3 года назад

as desertification threatens the planet, the hope of defeating the deserts in the future is always refreshing.

@sagacious03 3 года назад

Man, what torment! This super enduring, human edible melon... but it's rare, critical to at least 1 ecosystem, slow to grow, & we haven't figured out how to grow it ourselves yet. :( Thanks for uploading! Maybe someday, we'll figure out the mysteries of this desert delight!

@St.Raptor Год назад

Yeah this could solve allot of hunger in deserts worldwide. Imagine a plant you don't even need to take care of in a desert that lives a very long time...

@thorium222 3 года назад

That sounds like a plant that should grow in every desert. I hope they will soon figure it out how to grow them.

@StarlightJosh 3 года назад

Wow amazing !

@dragonicblaziken7 3 года назад

Made me think of the Hydro Melons in Gerudo Desert in Breath of the Wild

@BigT.Larrity 3 года назад

There we go! Knew I wasn't the only one

@tissuepaper9962 3 года назад

Same here

@queermelancholy1562 3 года назад

Maybe this plant's secrets will help us conquer Mars! Amazing information.

@YourMom-vl2sp 3 года назад

This guy always sound so excited to share the information!!

@InvisibleMag 3 года назад

Liet-Kynes wondering where this was all his life

@Ptaaruonn 3 года назад

Sir, you are a man of culture.

@bharris591 3 года назад

Indeed I wonder if they will do an episode on the mysterious sandworms.

@brianphillips7696 3 года назад

Bless the Maker and his passing.😁

@levibauer375 3 года назад

I’m so surprised that the melon isn’t toxic in any way

@sharrowkin1360 3 года назад

No one has said - to my knowledge- that it is not toxic to humans

@kylestanley7843 3 года назад

@@sharrowkin1360 another person in the comments said it's edible, and apparently tastes like a sour cucumber. Supposedly there are other fruiting plants in Namib, but they're not really edible.

@tissuepaper9962 3 года назад

Poisonous fruit is only advantageous when it serves the purpose of fending off insects or other small animals which don't do anything to disperse your seeds. If there aren't many of those insects and very small animals, there's no reason to have poisonous fruit.

@tissuepaper9962 3 года назад

@@sharrowkin1360 they literally said in the video that people eat it

@TheGuruNetOn 3 года назад

Edible Fruit being a way to disperse seeds to far away places through the guts of animals that eat them.

@h.pgugcraft1329 3 года назад

I see you speak of the ecology of Arrakis. May your moisture never dry fellow fremen.

@PaulAnguiano 3 года назад

I got a hold of couple seeds and grew one of these here in the US. I lost it in the second year to cold, but it survived a lot in the first year and I think I could have sheltered it better in the second. For some reason I thought this plant name had a click on the front: !nara. I talked to Joe Simcox briefly about them and showed him my pictures, but I haven't managed to acquire more seed. It's fun to see this plant talked about in a more mainstream channel like this.

@willbilly8738 2 года назад

I’m trying to grow it myself could you Tell me how you got yours to survive

@PaulAnguiano 2 года назад

@@willbilly8738 Seems to germinate in warm soil just like any other melon. It puts down some deep roots, so don't start it in a shallow pot. With full sun, it doesn't seem to take much care.

@willbilly8738 2 года назад

@@PaulAnguiano thank you!

@kimmismith9174 3 года назад

Northern Michigan (Keewana Peninsula) has a fruiting bush called thimbleberries that are also intensely environmentally specific. One of our state universities has tried to grow bushes using harvested native soil and they all failed. Thimbleberries taste similar to raspberries but sweeter.

@pratikkawade4861 3 года назад

Atleast there's a ecosystem that's going happily with no odds of being disturbed by humans. It somehow feels really comforting to have such a thing in a desert.

@Starfals 3 года назад

This is amazing. I never heard of this and everything about it is pretty wild.

@zippygundoo5852 3 года назад

Great & fascinating video, thanks!

@derickviana9831 3 года назад

Thx to SciShow for the amazing content!

@semaj_5022 3 года назад

That is a really cool plant. Holy crap. Great episode guys, thanks!

@infallibleblue 3 года назад

Simply amazing.

@aetima 3 года назад

That’s honestly amazing

@bectionaryadams8046 3 года назад

Is it just me or does that remind anyone else of a snozcumber? 😁 Love these fast facts! Thanks so much SciShow!

@alexwansss 3 года назад

Wonderful plant!

@Kumquat_Lord 3 года назад

Do NOT drink the cactus juice, no matter how quenchy it is

@milos1967 3 года назад

IT'LL QUENCH YA

@sulmanafridi5079 3 года назад

ITS THE QUENCHIEST!!!

@SimuLord 3 года назад

The Jurassic Park Principle is a true law of nature. Life _always_ finds a way.

@Guydude777 3 года назад

Fascinating!

@infinitecanadian 3 года назад

Thanks for including Imperial measurements!

@mikaeo23 3 года назад

The idea that there are still plants that we can't grow ourselves in this day and era is amazing to me.

@saaddiary 3 года назад

Reminds me of a plant that grows here in Arabia, Citrullus Colocynthis, that's the scientific name I think. It's inedible, but camels feed on it.

@MrHidePatten 3 года назад

IRL Cactus Juice

@viniguez487 3 года назад

BUT WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE!?!?

@xxhalfemptyxx7713 3 года назад

probs sour

@w_ldan 3 года назад

What a madlad

@ANTSEMUT1 3 года назад

You could say the Narra plant is the Melon Lord of the Namib Desert.

@factsyoudidnotknow4350 3 года назад

2:19 Wow, I never imagined that there are some plants that can survive in such harsh conditions. Great strategies!

@christelheadington1136 3 года назад

Jackals,Antelope, & mice ? Surely there must be Jackalopes.

@pdaphuulz8219 3 года назад

amazing

@snoopaka 3 года назад

Really fun tidbit.

@sueg2658 3 года назад

👍🏻 Really neat plant eco system!

@StyleshStorm 3 года назад

I like this guy.

@IJustWantToUseMyName 3 года назад

This planet is amazing.

@Mordechailars 3 года назад

Thank you for using the metric system!

@yubestbetrippen 3 года назад

It's the quenchiest!!

@domingodeanda233 3 года назад

That was pretty damn good

@BookUnbinder 3 года назад

If I ever find myself in the Namib desert and survive because of this video I'm donating mad money to y'all.

@benjaminhellmann400 3 года назад

The way this plant collects water and recourses blown around the desert to support it's own environment reminds me of the Fremen from Dune. The efficiency and recourcefulness of the plant's biology is inspiring and may very well be a design or process worth emulating in the future to help deal with a lack of non-renewable easily accessible recourses (brought on in part by global climate change) that many societies have relied on to develop; examples being deposites of guano and bird droppings that were mined for use as an industrial fertilizer or clean drinking water from reservoirs with steadily dropping water levels.

@Wikrin 3 года назад

If I was rich as hell, seeking out and eating one of these melons would be my "safari" equivalent. (Only if it could be done without harm to the local environment, ecosystem, and population, of course.)

@DiscoChixify 3 года назад

That’s an amazing mission: vegan Safari to sample every rare & exotic edible plant around the world.

@enb3810 3 года назад

Oh, man. This looks like it would absolutely destroy a region that's slightly more lush if you introduced it.

@rahn45 3 года назад

It's the quenchiest!

@Kevin_Street 3 года назад

Someday, after we smack a couple of comets into Mars, the Nara Melon is the kind of plant that might grow there. Only the hardiest extremophiles will have any chance at first.

@mt.69city 3 года назад

It's my reason to love the nature

@eisernfront8549 3 года назад

Nara tree, the toughest free and there's Nara melon, the toughest fruit.

@johnj8639 3 года назад

People grow this themselves in the region all the time, what do you mean they haven’t figured this out? If you mean you can’t grow it in other climates then yeah, just like you can’t grow corn in the desert or Alaska.

@user-uc1oy3zk4t 3 года назад

Can they grow it on the Sahara?

@Purwapada 3 года назад

. also spelled !nara - where the ! is a click sound

@BRUXXUS 3 года назад

That's really cool! :)

@Purwapada 3 года назад

. @@BRUXXUS Ikr :)

@silvertheelf 3 года назад

I can’t pronounce that.

@Nova-fx6kr 3 года назад

Hi love vids keep it up

@yungo1rst 3 года назад

cool keystone species. sorta reminds me of grouse berry for its difficulty to farm.

@mr.personhumanson6871 3 года назад

It's the quenchiest

@-bleep_bloop-4948 3 года назад

It’s the quenchiest.

@oldsarj 3 года назад

Desert: It's too hot and dry here for life Melon: Hold my beer.

@primordialious6945 3 года назад

Melon: My Ecosystem needs me.

@Nodd18 3 года назад

Anyone else see the thumbnail and thought the video would be about a melon that could grow on Mars?

@noahmarino9796 3 года назад

We should cover the desert in these

@hank6371 3 года назад

Nice shirt Michael

@dat1pengu1n 3 года назад

its the quenchiest!

@CynicalScientist261 3 года назад

Just a little fact check for you guys from a botanist. Water cannot be absorbed through the leave stomata one any plant. The surface tension of water is too high to allow it. So plants can’t harvest air moisture directly. Instead they allow if you run off in groves like you said. Unless aerial roots are used. But that’s a different matter x

@UnchosenMountainBerry 3 года назад

Look like efficient melons. They should try to tame it.

@artifactland69 3 года назад

Wow, nice video

@galihcd 3 года назад

This sounds like a miracle fruit

@noiJadisCailleach 3 года назад

So basically, it's the *Tree of life* on a plant level. The Plant of life!

@mebreevee1997 3 года назад

I keep remembering that episode of avatar the last airbender when Sokka ate the cactus and then tripped out like he was on serious hallucinogens.

@mkupcha3184 3 года назад

The Melonlord!!💚💚

@jordanleo 3 года назад

Rlly thought he was gonna start talking about a paddy melon lol

@NaomisNews2 3 года назад

Thats pretty unique & cool, wonder how it tastes?... hmmmmm🙈🙉🙊

@acloud7604 3 года назад

All that information yet you never told us how it would taste, assuming at least one of us craves this melon.

@Temp0raryName 3 года назад

Just check out @fiffi honeyblossom's comment, for that and more.

@FriedNoodlee Год назад

its supposed to be like avocado or a mix between cucumber, and pineapple

@ObiWanCannabi 3 года назад

its the Vicar of Dibley!

@BotC-jx3wq 3 года назад

Nice

@brendarua01 3 года назад

Take the Nara to Mars.

@kamrynrist6049 3 года назад

Melonathy Naratano here, the desert's busiest melon.

@slingslang2934 3 года назад

We should seek to disperse them, melons don't disperse their seeds the best

@vegettosonlab 3 года назад

Throw that at Mars.

@rockinrobin9093 3 года назад

“Along with the people who *discovered* it” Philosophy has entered the chat. Is math discovered or invented?

@falkj.beinker6561 3 года назад

Math is a invention based on the discoveries about nature

@TlalocTemporal 3 года назад

Was a reflection always there to discover, or is it created by the mirror?

@CaTastrophy427 3 года назад

Was the forest already there, or did the terrain only generate when someone first got to that area?

@tissuepaper9962 3 года назад

@@TlalocTemporal neither, it was created by the light source.

@josephburchanowski4636 3 года назад

Well aren't inventions discoveries? Did Rudolf Diesel invent the diesel engine, or did he discover how to create such an amazing engine for the time? I propose that it is a false dichotomy. Inventions can be discoveries.