So a science-nerdy friend of mine did this little experiment ten years ago today. They took some cactus grafts, sterilized everything, sealed them in nutrient agar, and basically forgot about it. It’s been sitting on a kitchen window ledge ever since, getting nothing but indirect sunlight.
No watering. No air. No opening. Just vibes.
And somehow, this little cactus is still alive. It’s been very slowly growing all this time you can see new offshoots forming. The agar’s cloudy now, and it’s pale from low light, but it’s clearly still photosynthesizing and thriving on whatever’s left in there.
Pretty sure it’s some kind of Opuntia (bunny-ear/prickly-pear type). Just thought it was too fascinating not to share.
by smeeon
6 Comments
God help me I don’t cross path with one of these people irl. Call me crazy but I feel bad for the poor guy
that was 9 years ago today, still pretty insane though
Life, uh, finds a way.
This is called tissue culture and it’s a common form of propagation for plants that are difficult to multiply. The agar media has all the sugars, micronutrients and salts a plant needs, so even if you put a plant without roots onto the media, it will survive. Once the plant has an established root system, it’s capable of photosynthesizing and respirating normally.
The jar is a self-contained, micro climate, the cactus can produce O2 & CO2 and the media in the jar has enough H2O and nutrients to keep the plant going for a while. Inevitably, the media will be used up and the cactus will need to be transplanted or it will die. Though, from the look of that jar, it might take another decade or so for the media to be used up..
Saying this poor thing is thriving is a joke. It’s clearly so, so sick. Terribly etiolated too.
The new Grinch female aid is prickly for her pleasure.