How do the plants pollinate?

[+Oltux72]

Given that Roshar has no bees or butterflies, I need to ask about the means of reproduction. How do Rosharan plants exchange genetic information? And what does that imply for the existence of flowers?

[Eternal Khol]

im sure they do have some kind of pollinator. There are mentions of “small insects” on Roshar in the books and they usually just call any insect a “cremling”.

so im sure we’ve seen a few pollinator “cremlings” around

Edited July 14, 2020 by Eternal Khol

[KandraAllomancer]

The lifespren are often seen around plants and I wonder if they might have something to do with it (assuming that they spend most of their time in the Physical Realm, like the windspren do)

[Eternal Khol]

7 minutes ago, KandraAllomancer said:

The lifespren are often seen around plants and I wonder if they might have something to do with it (assuming that they spend most of their time in the Physical Realm, like the windspren do)

That would be dope.

We know that physical spren can grab things, as evidenced by Syl getting Kal a poison leaf.

what if the lifespren or some other variety of spren are going from flower to flower and accidentally spreading pollin

Edited July 14, 2020 by Eternal Khol

[Gears]

You are assuming that the plants reproduce via pollination. They could instead utilize offshoots.

[Karger]

^^ I was going to say they might not pollinate at all.  Plenty of plants don't.  Some cremlings, minks, skyeels and other pollinators could also play a roll.  Perhaps they just use the winds.  This sounds more hit or miss but it is not impossible.  They also might use airborne fertilization methods(like coral's waterborne ones).

[Eternal Khol]

1 hour ago, Gears said:

 

You are assuming that the plants reproduce via pollination

 

Well a lot of rockbuds have flowers and I dont know what other purpose they could serve.  

 

 

33 minutes ago, Karger said:

Perhaps they just use the winds.  This sounds more hit or miss but it is not impossible.

plenty of plants on earth use wind pollination.

Edited July 15, 2020 by Eternal Khol

[+Oltux72]

4 hours ago, Gears said:

You are assuming that the plants reproduce via pollination. They could instead utilize offshoots.

Farmers glue seeds respectively spores to the ground. They harvest seeds for grain.

In addition the plants that do so have doomed themselves in the long run,throwing away the adaptability that comes with sexual reproduction. There must be plant sex for fast plant evolution.

3 hours ago, Karger said:

Perhaps they just use the winds.

But why do they have visible flowers then? Visible flowers attract pollinators who have to detect them at a distance.

[Karger]

19 minutes ago, Oltux72 said:

In addition the plants that do so have doomed themselves in the long run,throwing away the adaptability that comes with sexual reproduction. There must be plant sex for fast plant evolution.

Except we don't care about evolution because it is not really a concern within the timeline of the cosmere.

20 minutes ago, Oltux72 said:

But why do they have visible flowers then? Visible flowers attract pollinators who have to detect them at a distance.

I agree that some pollinators must exist.

[+Oltux72]

17 minutes ago, Karger said:

Except we don't care about evolution because it is not really a concern within the timeline of the cosmere.

Yet the biology of Roshar shows some distinct influences of evolution and design. The table of chrysalis forms Shallan goes through and her conclusions are very hard to explain without evolution.

17 minutes ago, Karger said:

I agree that some pollinators must exist.

And they must have eyes. Can we say that they must be flying?

[Karger]

14 minutes ago, Oltux72 said:

And they must have eyes. Can we say that they must be flying?

No.  There is actually a kind of lemur that collects pollen in its fur.