WE KNOW PLANTS’ biochemical genius makes them resilient, defends them well against predators, and gets their needs met in subtle and overt ways. And they don’t always hew to what a European sensibility might call the “natural order” of things. They don’t stick to their own species, or even to some clearly definable gender. After all, the orchid is reproducing through sex with a wasp. Some plants almost exclusively clone themselves, like aspens or dandelions, and still others clone themselves sometimes and have sex other times, like the strawberry. Many plants are bisexual, with male and female
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