The recent discussion about the 17-year cicadas made me wonder how nature times very long-duration functions. For example, bamboo flowers on a very long cycle-I believe it is something like every 50 years. What sort of chemical reaction could time such a long duration event as this? Or the cicadas…there are 7 year and 17 year models of this bug…have biologists identified what times this?
And howabout animals and plants that wait out long periods of drought/like some desert plants-they stay in seed for years, sometimes decades. Then, when a moisture signalis present, the sprout and begin their life cycle. 