The Private Life of Plants

Without plants, there would be no food, no animals of any sort, no life on earth at all. Yet for most of the time their lives remain a secret to us, hidden, private events.The reason is merely a difference of time. Plants live on a different time-scale from ours. Though not obviously to the naked eye, they are constantly on the move: developing, fighting, avoiding or exploiting predators or neighbours, struggling to find food, to increase their territories, to reproduce themselves, to find and hold a place in the sun. We only need to learn to look.

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Episodes

Travelling

David Attenborough's incredible journey into the world of plants. By using advanced timelapse photography, the plants are shown as complex and highly active organisms - growing, fighting, competing, breeding and struggling to survive. This programme demonstrates the techniques plants employ to travel from place to place to find new homes.

50 min

Growing

David Attenborough presents time-lapse photography that reveals how new leaves fight for a place in the sun, and examines the ingenious methods that plants use to defend themselves from animal attack.

50 min

Flowering

Flowers are the most eye-catching feature of plants, but they are there for only one thing - sex. In order to procreate, a male seed from one flower must be carried to the female parts of another. Flashy colours and lurid perfumes entice a host of animal couriers to collect their rewards.

50 min

The Social Struggle

David Attenborough looks at the extraordinary battles for survival that are fought in the plant world. Cameras reveal how plants use every trick in the book in a bid to come out on top, from growing at different rates to courting and even capitalising on disaster, whether it be hurricanes, fires or being eaten by animals.

50 min

Living Together

David Attenborough looks at the battle for survival in the plant world. Plants often rely on animals, fungi and each other for food, protection or a home - and they are not always grateful partners. Remarkable time-lapse photography reveals them strangling, stabbing and sucking their victims dry.

50 min

Surviving

David Attenborough reaches the climax of his journey into the world of plants. The final programme looks at the amazing variety of ingenious techniques plants have invented to survive even the coldest Arctic wastes and the driest, hottest deserts. Time-lapse sequences reveal giant water lilies rampaging across the Amazon, mangroves that care for their babies, and plants that survive only by devouring animals.

50 min