Science Under the Stars: Flora of the Living Dead

Can plants rise from the dead like zombies? Resurrection plants use a special ability called desiccation tolerance to survive extreme drought conditions that would easily kill most other creatures. Graduate student Allison Hutt will highlight the ecology, evolution and diversity of resurrection plants native to Texas, and explain what we know (and don’t know!) about how they manage to cheat death.

Allison Hutt is a Plant Biology Ph.D. student at UT Austin researching the ecology, physiology and genetics of Texas native resurrection grass Tripogonella spicata (American five minute grass). Resurrection plants have the amazing ability to systematically dry themselves out during drought, allowing them to protect desiccated tissue in a state of dormancy. They can then rehydrate and resume normal function in a matter of hours after rainfall. Allison’s research focuses on the genetic and phenotypic variation in the Texas population of T. spicata, the physiological and genetic response to repeated bouts of desiccation and rehydration, and the ecology of resurrection plant communities in Central Texas.

Schedule:

• 7:00 pm: Kid’s activities and natural history displays
• 7:15 pm: Guided tour of Brackenridge Field Laboratory
• 8:00 pm: Talk begins
• 8:45 pm: Q&A with speaker

The talk will be held outdoors at Brackenridge Field Laboratory. 

Science Under the Stars is a free public outreach lecture series in Austin, Texas run by UT graduate students. Events are held outdoors at Brackenridge Field Laboratory, 2907 Lake Austin Blvd, Austin, Texas 78703. Find schedules and links for each event on the SUtS blog, Instagram, X/Twitter and YouTube channel, or sign up on their listserve to get event notifications.