Main content

Water Worlds

Episode 2 of 5

A look at the beautiful, bizarre worlds created by water plants. Flowers smother rivers and lakes. Plants fight and hunt. A river bubbles like champagne as plants create the atmosphere itself.

Water plants create some of the most beautiful, bizarre and important habitats on earth. To hold on in torrents, plants use a kind of superglue. Some are armed with vicious weapons to fight titanic battles for space. Others form perfect spheres and escape from animal enemies by rolling.

Where nutrients are washed away, plants turn into hunters of animals, laying traps and even counting to ensure their success. Brilliantly coloured flowers smother lakes, and in one magical river in Brazil, the water bubbles like champagne as plants create the atmosphere itself.

Available now

59 minutes

Signed Audio described

Last on

Sun 26 May 2024 16:35

Music Played

  • Mark McKenzie

    Ultimate Life

  • Skrillex

    Skrillex Orchestral Suite By Varien

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter David Attenborough
Executive Producer Michael Gunton
Series Producer Rupert Barrington
Producer Peter Bassett

Broadcasts

Featured in...

Download a FREE Open University poster and find out more about environmental science

Discover the power of plants, the key to life on land