The Awkward Side-Effects of Evolution | Raptitude.com. New Zealand is a black sheep among nations. Having spent the last 60 million years isolated from the rest of the continents — longer than any other major land mass — life has had a long time to do its own thing here. The vast majority of native trees and animals are found nowhere else. They’ve all learned their own tricks for contending with their unique surroundings. In particular, many birds, including the iconic Kiwi, found no reason to bother flying because there was nothing on the ground that would eat them. An important lesson from a clever plant One of the more unusual New Zealand plants is the Lancewood. Most of the specimens you’ll encounter look something like a tall broomstick decorated with menacing, saw-like leaves. A young Lancewood The Lancewood has a very bizarre feature: It completely transforms itself after reaching a certain level of maturity.
A mature Lancewood Biologists couldn’t understand why a plant would evolve to do that. We get needlessly upset over losing face. Coconut-carrying octopus. Crystal Palace — Photo Gallery. Ants! Columns | Michael Abernethy | Queer, Isn't It? | The Ugly Duckling has Two Daddies. Absolutely Nothing > Solitary soul.