In article ,
Michael A. Terrell wrote:

Sigh. That's how seeds work.

I know, I know.

Try letting them start growing, then
dry them out and see what happens.

But, as with the resurrection fern (which has spores rather than true
seeds), the plant is certainly "alive" by a useful definition, even
after it has passed the point at which it might conventionally be
considered "dead".

My intent was to address the claim that an earlier poster made, that
picked vegetables are "dead" because they no longer have a source of
water and nutrients.

My point (which I should perhaps have made more explicitly) was that
the question of "alive" and "dead" is not so simply defined, even with
respect to plants. It isn't even always a clear question with respect
to animals... some simple animals can estivate, dehydrating themselves
into a low-water state and surviving extensive periods of drought with
their metabolisms stopped, and then restarting when rehydrated. Other
animals can survive when frozen solid.

Are these plants, and animals "dead", when their metabolisms have been
shut down due to dehydration or cold? Are they "alive", or only
"potentially alive" based on what happens in the future?

To my mind, an onion or other vegetable which is picked, and sitting
in the refrigerator, is usually still alive. Its roots may be gone,
it may be slowly dehydrating, but its cells are still metabilizing
(respiring), it's still converting stored fuel to energy (albeit at a
low rate), and it's often capable of re-sprouting and re-rooting
itself if taken out of the fridge and set into soil. Why then would
one say that it is "dead"?

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
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