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Allelopathic Plants


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Forwarded message:
From:	fthompso@haywire.csuhayward.edu (Fred Thompson)
To:	ThompsonF@aol.com
Date: 97-05-04 23:54:15 EDT


How plants keep other plants away

   Allelopathy is a chemical process that a plant uses to keep other
   plants out of its space. There are several types of chemical
   alleopathy. In one kind, the plant that is protecting its space
   releases growth-compounds from its roots into the ground. New plants
   trying to grow near the allelopathic plant absorb those chemicals from
   the soil and are unable to live. A second type of allelopathy releases
   chemicals that slows or stops the process of photosynthesis . An
   allelopathic plant may also release chemicals that change the amount
   of chlorophyll a plant has in it. When a plant's chlorophyll levels
   are changed, it cannot make the food it needs, and the plant dies.
   
  There are several ways in which an allelopathic plant can release its
  protective chemicals:
  
   
          
   Volatilization
          Allelopathic trees release a chemical in the form of a gas
          through small openings in their leaves. Other plants absorb the
          toxic chemical and die.
          
   Leaching
          All plants lose leaves. Some plants store protective chemicals
          in the leaves they drop. When the leaves fall to the ground,
          they decompose. As this happens, the leaves give off chemicals
          that protect the plant.
          
   Exudation
          Some plants release defensive chemicals into the soil through
          their roots. Those chemicals are absorbed by the roots of other
          trees near the allelopathic one. As a result, the
          non-allelopathic tree is damaged.
          
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          This document has been accessed 543 times since 3/25/96.
          This document was last modified on Tuesday, September, 03, 1996
          at 15:58:49
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