Plants are delicious, nutritious, and full of energy, so they’re prime targets for all sorts of herbivores, parasites, and pathogens. But plants aren’t just sitting passively accepting attacks, they use a variety of strategies to defend themselves, from the frustrating to the fatal. This episode, we’re joined by our favorite paleobotanist, Aly Baumgartner, to discuss the many ways plants defend themselves – physically, chemically, and beyond – and the fascinating evolutionary history of plant defenses and their offenders.In the news: deep-sea fish, Wollemi pines, learning birds, and plant technology.Time markers: Intro & Announcements: News: Main discussion, Part 1: Main discussion, Part 2: Patron question: Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures: http://commondescentpodcast.com/Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcastGot a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/We’re an Audible Affiliate Partner! Use this link for a 30-day free trial to Audible: https://www.audibletrial.com/CommonDescentOr make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hpFind merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descentJoin the Common Descent Discord server! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9EvFollow and Support us on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/commondescentpodcast/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/You can email us at commondescentpodcast(at)gmail.com Or send us physical mail at: The Common Descent Podcast 1735 W State of Franklin Rd. Ste 5 #165 Johnson City, TN 37604The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/