Every organism must contend with its immediate physical environment, a world that both limits what organisms can do and offers innumerable opportunities for evolving ways to challenge those limits. Steven Vogel, author of The Life of a Leaf, will explain these interactions, using the leaf as example, on Thursday, May 30 from 7 – 8:30 at the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum. In exploring the leaf’s world, Vogel simultaneously explores our own. He’ll answer questions about how objects get much hotter than air when in sunlight and far cooler when beneath a clear night sky; how air movement matters even when we can’t feel it; how objects such as trees avoid damage from storms; and ways leaves acquire the essential resources for growth and reproduction. Join us to learn about some of the extraordinary designs that enable a leaf to adapt to its physical world. Fee $10 Arboretum member, $15 nonmember. Register on line at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu.
