Leaf It To Us Podcast

Hello! Leaf it to Us is a podcast about the science of plants and their importance to us humans! Leaf it to Us is a descendant of @commondescentpod.bsky.social. They don't talk enough about plants, so we have BRANCHED off and said "Leaf it to Us!"

Sometimes, you can just tape two plants together and they’ll become one plant. How does that even work?

The long-awaited sequel to our Jurassic Salad episode from Season 1! This episode, we concoct a salad from the Pliocene of Africa to feed our hominin ancestors!

Taxonomists take note!

Adorable!

The alpine plants episode of @leafittouspod.bsky.social reminded me of a recent hike at Niwot Ridge where I came across a research plot where they’d evidently needed to keep track of tiny plants. They had chosen little plastic flamingos as markers. leafittouspod.podbean.com/e/s2-episode...

In the high Arctic and high mountains, plants get tiny and tough! This episode, Nora and Aly gush over the incredible adaptations that allow plants to survive the wind, cold, and darkness beyond the tree line. Image by Matthias Zepper

Sometimes there are plants where we don’t want them! What makes weeds so … weedy? Why do we dislike them so much? And is a weed truly in the eye of the beholder?

Season 2 Episode 2 is out now! Forests have age, and it’s not just about the age of the trees! What happens as a forest grows older? How is a young forest different from an old forest? Answers to these questions and more in this episode! Image by Ximesmp

Leaf it to Us Season 2 has begun!

To start off Season 2, Nora asks Aly to explain the complex and confusing science behind what is and isn’t a berry! Did you know bananas are berries? Also watermelon! But strawberries and raspberries aren’t! What’s the deal? Listen to find out! leafittouspod.podbean.com/e/s2e1-whats...

We’re doing something new this year! Reading Between the Pines, a plant-themed book club hosted by Aly! A new book each month, chosen by our Patrons. This month’s book is Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer! Join us for our Book Club meeting on Discord, May 30th at 4pm EDT!

Season 2 is about to bloom! The Trailer is out today, and Episode 1 drops on May 7th! Please consider joining us on Patreon and Discord to keep updated and engage with our lovely community! And join us for something new: Reading Between the Pines, our plant-themed book club! More details soon!

A year ago, Nora and Aly recorded an “Episode 0” to get a feel for the process and decide if they really wanted to make a podcast. Some plants are famously active in the winter. So famous, in fact, that they have become immediately recognizable symbols of Christmas and Winter Solstice holidays.

Nora and Aly wrap up Season 1 by answering a bunch of questions from fans! A huge thanks to all of our listeners and supporters for making this podcast happen. Stay tuned for Season 2 in 2026!

The final episode of Before We Leaf (Season 1) is now available on Patreon! In which there are many ramblings about geologic time, potatoes, reminiscing about Season 1, looking ahead to Season 2, and The Geologic Time Scale According to Plants According to David.

What if the Geologic Time Scale was based on the evolution and extinction of PLANTS?? 🌱🌿🌴🌲🌳🌻

At long last, @paleolorax.bsky.social gives us her Plant-Based History of the Earth!

Scientists organize the history of the Earth based on the experiences of animals. But what if the Geologic Time Scale was plant-centric? This episode, Aly presents Nora with her take on a time scale based on the evolution and extinction of plants through time. Image by Lucy Wayland

Plants require sunlight to survive, but when night falls and the daytime-dwellers disappear, many varieties of flower come alive. This episode, Nora and Aly explore the allure of “moon gardens” and the adaptations that allow beautiful and aromatic flowers to thrive in darkness.

Some plants get big – like, several acres big – like, an entire forest big – like, the largest living things on the planet big. This episode, Nora and Aly address some of the most sprawling plants on Earth and explore the plant super-powers that allow them to achieve super-size.

We all learned that roots are the below-ground part of a plant. Well, it turns out there are exceptions … a lot of them. This episode, Nora asks Aly to explain the many and varied reasons why a plant might wave its roots in the air like it just don’t care.

Footage of me making notes of all the new information I'm learning about fruit from listening to the most recent episode of @leafittouspod.bsky.social. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

Did you know that placing a banana next to an apple can help the banana ripen faster? Well that was news to some people! This episode, Nora and Aly discuss what exactly is going on inside a ripening fruit and how the fruit knows it’s time to signal its own deliciousness. Image by Dominique Hessel

"Aaaaaahhhhhh!" -plants, somehow

Plants do not have mouths, but that doesn’t stop them from expressing themselves! This episode, Nora and Aly touch on the topic of plant communication and explore how plants signal distress. Image by Mtaufiqurrahman

If you didn't get enough talk about salads, check out Before We Leaf on our Patreon! Nora, Aly, and David have lots more to say about food. www.patreon.com/posts/before...

Making a Mesozoic meal!

We have been informed that this episode might be relevant to Dinosaur Time. Dine accordingly. 🦕🥬

What if you traveled back in time to the Jurassic Period … and got hungry? Could you make a meal with the plants available at the time? This episode, Nora and Aly do some speculative cooking to see what they might include in a Jurassic Salad.

Our bonus episode - Before We Leaf, Episode 5 - is now available for Patrons! In which Nora, Aly, and David discuss plants, fire, and invasive raccoons. 🌿🔥🦝 www.patreon.com/c/leafittous...

🌳🌳 and 🔥🔥!!

Since they first moved onto land, plants have had to adapt to world full of fire, and not only do they survive, they thrive! This episode, Nora and Aly explore how plants persist despite being some of the most flammable things around. Episode 5 is out now!

If you didn't get enough talk of vegetables in this episode, we have great news - our Bonus Episode Before We Leaf is now out on Patreon! Nora, Aly, and David discuss their favorite vegetables and more! www.patreon.com/leafittouspod

What you will learn from this episode of @leafittouspod.bsky.social will open your eyes, expand your mind, and forever change the way you see what's on offer at the greengrocer. 😲🥦🥬🫜

Thanks for the shout-out! So glad you're enjoying it!

Episode 4 - Brassica! Did you know that dozens of our favorite vegetables are all the same species? How did that happen? This episode, Nora and Aly explore the science and history of Brassica! leafittouspod.podbean.com/e/episode-4-...

If you're subscribed to our Patreon, you can go listen to Episode 3 of Before We Leaf! In this one, Nora, Aly, and David talk a lot about talking, and also we lose Aly (she gets better).

Episode 3 - What's Inside a Pinecone? Out now! Featuring an animated discussion about these CT-scan images from the Regents of the University of Michigan.

For the curious, this is the article that inspired this first episode: The "sex change" (not really, but kinda) of the Fortingall Yew Tree in Scotland www.thepinknews.com/2015/11/03/e...

Episode 2's bonus episode (Before We Leaf) is now available for our Patrons! Featuring even more stories of plants vs pets, including that one time David lost a lizard.

I'm producing a podcast with a pair of proficient plant-ladies! The first two episodes are out, and it's a ton of fun! (I'm also on the podcast, but you'll mostly have to check out the bonus content to hear me)

🚨 New Podcast Alert! 🚨 If you - like Nora and Aly - feel that we don't talk enough about plants, we've got great news!

Episode 2 - Houseplants vs Housepets Why are so many of our favorite houseplants so dangerous to our pets? Nora and Aly investigate the antagonism between plants and animals and share some of their favorite stories of plants vs pets. leafittouspod.podbean.com/e/episode-2-...

Episode 1 - Sex-Changing Plants! Nora brings along some surprising news about trees that spontaneously changed sex, and Aly explains how plant sex works and what makes a tree suddenly swap from male to female. leafittouspod.podbean.com/e/episode-1-...

Episode 1 - Sex-Changing Plants! Nora brings along some surprising news about trees that spontaneously changed sex, and Aly explains how plant sex works and what makes a tree suddenly swap from male to female. leafittouspod.podbean.com/e/episode-1-...