Branch Ou‪t‬ The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

Prepare to blush as we explore the unusual, ingenious and sometimes even deceptive ways plants are gettin' it on for the survival of their species. Plant sex is real, it's happening all around us and it's not just up to the birds and the bees. Our flowering flora have honed a whole range of different reproduction processes over hundreds of millions of years to pass on their genes - and some of them, are just down right amazing. In this slightly raunchy episode of Branch Out you'll also hear about the incredible scientific efforts to make sure some of our most endangered plants, like orchids, can keep gettin' it on.

Plants have developed an array of deadly defences and chemical compounds can turn an innocent looking ornamental into a deadly assassin. Different toxins affect different parts of our body too, causing everything from kidney failure, heart failure, brain damage and even death. It's why humans have used poisonous plants in weapons to kill prey and even commit murder. But most of the time, our run in with poisonous plants is a mistake with thousands of accidental poisoning illnesses and deaths each year all around the world because it's often very hard to tell the difference between something that's poisonous, and something that's not.

When we hear 'pandemic' we immediately think of COVID-19. But there's a deadly plant disease pandemic called 'myrtle rust' tearing through Australia that arrived long before COVID-19. It's spreading fast and attacking plants in the Myrtaceae family such as our iconic eucalypts. In this episode you'll discover the cutting-edge science that is our best bet for saving our species. It's the same science that will could save us from COVID-19 - DNA research.

We're in the middle of once-in-a-century pandemic and coming into peak flu-season in the southern hemisphere. Medicine is on our minds and surprisingly, many developed in the last century were derived from naturally occurring molecules found in plants, bacteria, and fungi. In this episode you'll discover some of mother nature's miracles, the latest in cutting-edge medicinal cannabis research and traditional Chinese herbal medicine - treating everything from dementia to endometriosis. You'll also learn how to grow a couple of plants at home that can help relieve cold and flu symptoms.

Australia is a no doubt a sunburnt country and the unique landscape shares a long and important relationship with fire. But even the most fire-adapted plants were devastated by the intense summer bushfires. While new growth is emerging and cutting-edge science is saving species - there's still a long road to recovery for the flora that went up in flames.

Did you know aspirin was derived from salicin found in the bark of several varieties of Willow tree? Plants are the source of so many amazing past and new inventions we need in our lives. In this episode you'll discover how scientists are utilising the waste material from banana plants to create biodegradable food packaging to combat the plastic pollution problem. You'll also learn how researchers are potentially turning cashew nut shells into more environmentally friendly sunscreen.