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Evolutionary History


Dear Mediterranean plant lovers,

I'm helping out on a project to make a Walk-Through-Time display
for Earth Day 1997.  This will be a 1-mile walk, with 1 million years
to the foot scale, taking the participant through the 5-billion years
of life on earth.  (to be on public display at HP labs in Palo Alto).

The main bulk of the walk will consist of posters that will describe
and illustrate the major evolutionary changes that occured at various
points along the time line.

My contribution will be to come up with a collection of plants, and
an associated script that will be displayed in parallel with the
rest of the exhibit.    

I'm asking the Medit-plant group for suggestions of plants to illustrate
botanical evolutionary history.  Ideally, these will all be plants that are
available in the Bay Area, and that will endure at least one week of outdoor
exhibition.

Each of the plants should be novel, interesting, and have a good story to tell. 

Here's some ideas:

    ------------ symbiotic multicellular communities
    Lichens (algae/fungal symbiont)
    ------------ true plants
    Mosses (exchanges genetic material by free-swimming cells)
    Ferns
    Rushes
    ------------ development of true seeds 
    N.A. Bunch Grasses  (wind pollenated)
    Cactii (first spines ?)
    Conifers	
    Gingko biloba   (insect pollenated)
    Gunnera
    Metasequoia 
    Fruiting plant  (animal pollenated - selection for desirable fruit)
    ------------ human impact on plant genetics
    European Grasses       (adapted to grazing by livestock)
    Corn, Wheat, Beans, Banana, Squash, Potato (heavily modified for
    human consumption.  Many of these plants are now sterile
    (potato, banana), and have been associated with human
    cultivation from hoary antiquity) 

Also, are there clever ways  to exhibit oddities like lichens and
single-cellular plants?


Thanks for your help!
--

Rick Walker
walker@opus.hpl.hp.com
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