Science on the SPOT: Albino Redwoods, Ghosts of the Forest - KQED QUEST

[coolchild2001]

such a beautiful little documentary haha.. i loved it !

[RedwoodExplorer]

The albino redwoods I've seen, lead me to expect that there may be one or two hundred. When its overcast and moist, even regular green foliage looks whitish and makes these hard to spot. I suspect that there are a bunch more like just inches or a couple of feet tall that have not been spotted: cloaked by the forest - M. D. Vaden / Redwood Trekker

[jozerdevnull]

Has anyone considered that this might be a beneficial adaptation. Why should the host tree bother to expend the energy for the albino offspring to produce chlorophyl if the daughter tree is unlikely to photosynthesize much down in the dark undergrowth? Perhaps after the host dies the albino could sense that death and through some chemical signaling start producing its own chlorophyl. Have we ever witnessed the death of an "albino" tree's host to see how they fare afterwards?

[sgreddin]

Hahah "this is the offspring that sits on the couch and doesn't get a job"

[coolchild2001]

@sgreddin LMFAO i loled so hard.

[anmoose]

Fascinating! And that's the key: "They will survive, if we let them survive."

IOW... "If the human race doesn't destroy them first..."