Toyota creates air-purifying shrub

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nb20051007a8.htm

Toyota creates air-purifying shrub

NAGOYA (Kyodo) Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it has developed a new species of shrub that absorbs harmful substances in the air.
The Kirsch Pink, related to the Cherry Sage shrub, will be sold for 380 yen each by Toyota Roof Garden Co., a Toyota Motor subsidiary, beginning next March.

First-year sales are targeted at 10,000 plants.

The Kirsch Pink is the same as the Cherry Sage, absorbing nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and other air pollutants, but the new shrub is 1.3 times more effective, the automaker said.

The new plant, which bears pink flowers between May and November, also diminishes the urban heat-island effect 1.3 times more than the Cherry Sage, it said.

So pretty much they took a Cherry Sage Shrub fed it with extra nutrients, recorded over average pollution absorbtion results and claimed they invented a new shrub? Its only 0.3 over an average plant. Even if they used genetic selection to get Cherry Sage Shrubs which absorbed more pollution than average, they technically didn't create a new 'species' of plant.

I do think this is an extremely smart thing for Toyota to do to boost their environment friendly, low gas consumption image. The idea is so cheesy and simple, but it works.

So pretty much they took a Cherry Sage Shrub fed it with extra nutrients, recorded over average pollution absorbtion results and claimed they invented a new shrub? Its only 0.3 over an average plant. Even if they used genetic selection to get Cherry Sage Shrubs which absorbed more pollution than average, they technically didn't create a new 'species' of plant.

I do think this is an extremely smart thing for Toyota to do to boost their environment friendly, low gas consumption image. The idea is so cheesy and simple, but it works.
Well what is your definition of a new species. If it is along the lines of a biological definition it goes something like this: a group of organisms that can sucessfully mate and produce offspring for over 2 generations. If this new shrub cannot cross pollenate with a traditional Cherry Sage then yes it is a new species. But remember that plants are different than animal species because of polyploydy (its late so forgive the spelling) aka cross fertilization. Some species of plants can actually pick up chromosomes from other species pollen and incorporate their DNA into the offspring. It does also happen in animals but is the exception rather than the rule. I could go into more detail but I don't think it is needed.

I do wonder why Toyota is working so hard on plant life rather than researching autos. Remember their 'healing seats' and 'parts that grow themselves' articles that came out a few weeks ago?

I do wonder why Toyota is working so hard on plant life rather than researching autos. Remember their 'healing seats' and 'parts that grow themselves' articles that came out a few weeks ago?


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i think this pretty much hits it on the head:

I do think this is an extremely smart thing for Toyota to do to boost their environment friendly, low gas consumption image. The idea is so cheesy and simple, but it works.

Well what is your definition of a new species. If it is along the lines of a biological definition it goes something like this: a group of organisms that can sucessfully mate and produce offspring for over 2 generations. If this new shrub cannot cross pollenate with a traditional Cherry Sage then yes it is a new species. But remember that plants are different than animal species because of polyploydy (its late so forgive the spelling) aka cross fertilization. Some species of plants can actually pick up chromosomes from other species pollen and incorporate their DNA into the offspring. It does also happen in animals but is the exception rather than the rule. I could go into more detail but I don't think it is needed.

I do wonder why Toyota is working so hard on plant life rather than researching autos. Remember their 'healing seats' and 'parts that grow themselves' articles that came out a few weeks ago?

The article said that the plant toyota made was the same plant as the cherry sage brush, so I assumed that Toyota didn't create a new species. My definition of a species is a fundamental category of taxonomic classification, ranking below a genus or subgenus and consisting of related organisms capable of interbreeding.
I think the problem is the article doesn't give us enough information.
This is wise for Toyota's environment friendly image.