Let Sir David Attenborough introduce you to our unsung heroes

The evolution of science and technology has taken human understanding of the plant world to the next level – experience it for yourself with The Green Planet, starting on BBC Earth (DStv channel 184) on Sunday 13 February at 4 PM.

Plants live secret, unseen lives. But don’t underestimate them. They are as aggressive, competitive and dramatic as animals – locked in life-and-death struggles for food and light, taking part in fierce battles for territory, and desperately trying to reproduce and scatter their young. Filmed over 4-years using pioneering new filmmaking technology and the very latest science, The Green Planet reveals this strange and wonderful world of plants like never before.

Watch the trailer here:

Made by BBC Studios’ world-renowned Natural History Unit, the unforgettable 6-part series, including the making of, sees Sir David Attenborough travel across the globe, from South Africa, to  Costa Rica, Croatia to northern Europe. From deserts to water worlds, from tropical forests to the frozen north, Attenborough finds brand-new stories and gains a fresh understanding of how plants live their lives. He meets the largest living things that have ever existed – trees that care for each other, plants that hunt animals and a plant with the most vicious defences in the world. 

Witness the plants in South Africa like never before - episode 3 takes you to the Fynbos region of South Africa where The Fire Lily is filmed for the first time. 

Every summer fires break out and burn up whole hillsides, destroying all the flowers in a matter of hours. The smoke percolates into the soil and signals the rare Fire Lily to blossom just 4 days after the fire. As the first flower to grow in the charred landscape, it has all the pollinators to itself.

Pioneering motion-control robotics systems allow us to take a magical journey into the world of plants, in real time and in time-lapse, to watch their lives on their timescale and from their perspective. Thermal cameras; macro frame stacking, to give incredible depth-of-field; ultra-high-speed cameras and the latest developments in microscopy all allow us to reveal a fresh view of the lives of plants and their incredible beauty.

Plants don’t act alone, they forge intimate relationships, as friends and enemies, with other plants, animals and even with humans. They count, they hunt, they deceive, they communicate, they protect their relatives and they manipulate animals for their own ends. Contrary to how it may appear, when plants and animals interact, the plant is usually in charge. 

Filmed around the world, The Green Planet will be the first immersive portrayal of an unseen, inter-connected world, airing at a critical moment, just as our green world stands on the brink of collapse.

Whether it’s technology, science, conservation or biology that interests you – this ground-breaking series includes all four.