YouTube: https://youtube.com/watch?v=VNQPaSK-3ec
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View count:207,578
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Duration:00:55
Uploaded:2023-07-12
Last sync:2024-08-23 19:15

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MLA Full: "Why is my houseplant crying? #shorts #science #SciShow." YouTube, uploaded by SciShow, 12 July 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNQPaSK-3ec.
MLA Inline: (SciShow, 2023)
APA Full: SciShow. (2023, July 12). Why is my houseplant crying? #shorts #science #SciShow [Video]. YouTube. https://youtube.com/watch?v=VNQPaSK-3ec
APA Inline: (SciShow, 2023)
Chicago Full: SciShow, "Why is my houseplant crying? #shorts #science #SciShow.", July 12, 2023, YouTube, 00:55,
https://youtube.com/watch?v=VNQPaSK-3ec.
Have you ever looked at your prized pothos plant and seen it dripping from the tips of its leaves? It isn't crying - it's guttating! And not only is this not a bad thing, for some plants, guttation is the secret to their success.

Hosted by: Hank Green (he/him)

Emma Barratt: Writer
Heather Hess : Fact Checker
Amy Peterson: Script Editor
Madison Lynn: Videographer
Seth Gliksman: Editor
Stefan Chin: Script Supervisor
Savannah Geary: Producer
Daniel Comiskey: Editorial Director
Nicole Sweeney: Executive Producer
Hank Green: Executive Producer

Sources:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128021392000032
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12229-016-9165-y
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15427520902970300
https://royalbrinkman.com/knowledge-center/crop-care/guttation

Image Sources:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guttation_ne.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2013-10-24_18-02-17-gouttes.JPG
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:4c_droplets_(7518607212).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leaves_with_drops.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Droplets-07270012.JPG
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2012-12-19_12-46-19-gouttes-eau-7f.jpg
Hank: Have you ever spotted your houseplant crying? Don't worry; you didn't make it too sad by playing a bunch of Taylor Swift albums in a row. It's a phenomenon called "guttation," where plans release water through structures in their leaves called "hydathodes." Plants will sometimes do this to relieve internal pressure at their roots, and when humidity is high, these droplets don't evaporate away as quickly as they are excreted, so they hang around on the leaves.

Some plants will purge toxins through guttation, and other will even release excess minerals and other compounds in their droplets. And those can actually drip back into the soil and make it even more nutritious for their own growth - a kind of "save the rest for later" approach.

One study even showed that of different varieties of rice, the more fluid they released via guttation, the bigger their yield. So guttation seems to be related to even healthier plants overall. All in all, if you spot a weepy houseplant, don't worry. It's natural, and you're probably not failing as a plant parent.

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