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• Tollana1234567@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  swallowtails on specific aristocholcia plants, pretty toxic to humans believes its a nasty carcinogen too, but only native butterfly larvae can it, while some aristocholcia that are non native are too toxic even to native butterflies that can eat it.

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• phtheven@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Tomatoes? What’s their defense mechanism?

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  • weps@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    they’re pretty interesting

    from poison that disappears the moment the fruit is ripe, to attracting wasps that kill insects, to starving caterpillars that start eating them.

    Have you ever touched a tomato plant? The smell is amazing. It’s also sticky.

    They’re closely related to potato plants ( nightshade ) and if you didn’t know, potatoe plants make “tomatoes” if you let them flower.

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    • phtheven@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Wait but I’ve eaten green tomatoes? Are they only safe when they’re fried? Or is it more of a mildly sore tummy situation?

      Feel free to elaborate on those insect interactions if you feel like it, those sound useful as a gardener.

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    • phtheven@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Hold the fucking phone

      I’ve been growing both these plants for years. And i had no idea about this. Potatoes growing tomatoes? I might need to see this for myself. I assume they’re anaemic little things, but still.

      Love the smell of toms of course, i didnt know that was a defense mechanism, i thought they just kinda had that smell.

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  • Tollana1234567@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    wild ones protect themselves from tomato hornworms, by releasing a volatile chemical to nearby predators, and parasitoid insects. also some produce “Trichome” hairs to prevent cuscuta parasitic plant from latching on.

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