Talk:Fluorescence in plants

I think that this article is well written, but because glowing is such an essential part of the text, I think it would be valuable to describe exactly how plants glow and what other benefits come from the glowing of plants besides research. Also why do the plants glow? How does it benefit the plants themselves? Do we use any plants that glow and what do they hope to find out at the research site on mars? Adrian Arias

I think this is one of the most interesting articles I've ever read in my entire life! Of course I LOVE PLANTS, and I also love phosphorus because it glows. There is just something about glowing that we need and we inherently are attracted to- it's mysterious but at the same time very beautiful as we are beginning to find out it serves a very practical function. The more we learn about it the more incredible we are going to find out this property really is. You go, GLOW!!!! Lunaqua

Several Notes
0th: Why does the cleanup note begin "This January 2006"?

o "the Day-Glo flower", if indeed it is a type of plant (instead of a '60s graphic), should have some kind of link, so that a reader can find the referent (unlike what his experience with a Google search will be).

o "betaxanthis": I think it's betaxanthins.

o including an image of Mars is ridiculous (*); how about an image of a fluorescing plant?

(*: It strongly suggests that someone from UF wrote this article, and didn't care about much other than getting his project into Wikipedia.  The UF work should be subordinated.)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by PMH232 (talk • contribs) 16:01, 8 February 2011 (UTC)


 * I think you're right on several points. The fact that scientists have modified plants to utilize GFP or other fluorescent proteins isn't a proper subject for an article. Lots of organisms have now been modified with GFP! We address these advances in the organism's respective article or at green fluorescent protein. I redirected the article to the naturally fluorescing chemicals, Betalain. Rkitko (talk) 16:37, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

I suggest doing the following instead:

o leave the top, general part of this article basically(*) as-is (*: correct spelling, deal w/ lack of ref. to "day-glo flower", etc., as in my earlier notes) o subordinate the UF stuff, probably adding a like to your Betalain page

Reason: I went to this page in the first place bec. (I've been into mineral fluorescence lately, &) I have a weed that grows at my house that has the most amazing yellow-fluorescing sap & flowers (!) I was hoping to find the ID of that plant. (I didn't, but that page sure would be the place to put it.) ...and, of course, links to other fluorescing plants.

(I'd do these myself, but I'm just not familiar with the etiquette of bashing on pages like you did (not to be overly negative, but I myself would never even think of ... well, what seemed to me at first (*) as redirecting a page out of existence) (*: and I bet it would seem that way to many users (& so, in effect, be so) )  — Preceding unsigned comment added by PMH232 (talk • contribs) 21:19, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Further Notes
Since writing the above (& then having the entire page Redirected (for not a good reason, IMHO)), I've made some progress in this area, & think that this page should be (*) reinstated (well, without the earlier content, which was largely only self-serving), to include the following:

The wildflower Greater Celadonium's sap and flowers fluoresce a bright yellow in longwave UV.

The sap of milkweed fluoresces white in shortwave UV.

(*: I don't know how to do this, and don't plan to be doing stuff like this enough to spend the time to learn.)

(Oh: This knowledge is from personal inspection.  The reason I wanted it here is because I couldn't find it anywhere else, & think it's interesting.)

PMH232 (talk) 17:56, 13 July 2011 (UTC) PMH