On 2016 Apr 26, Jean-Luc Margot commented:

This article includes the following claims: 1) the timing of peak pollination in Ephedra foeminea coincides with the full moon in July, 2) the plant can detect the full moon through light or gravity, 3) the full-moon detection trait is an evolutionary adaptation that aids the navigation by pollinating insects.

These extraordinary claims are made on the basis of 3 data points. There is no warning or acknowledgment about the possibility that the approximate coincidence between the 3 observed pollination peaks and the full moon could be entirely fortuitous. A chance alignment at the level observed by the authors is expected in about 0.5% of similarly constructed studies. Because the phenological record is extensive, it is straightforward to identify multiple instances of seemingly striking coincidences between plant development phases and the full moon. When a sufficiently long record is examined, however, the apparent association with the full moon reliably disappears. It is likely that additional observations of pollination in E. foeminea will invalidate the claims described in the article.

The authors invoked the detection of lunar tides by E. foeminea as a possible mechanism for the observed coincidence. Because of the form of the gravity potential, the gravity signals at new moon and full moon are roughly equivalent, and one would not expect a gravity trigger at full moon that does not also act at new moon, when pollination peaks were not observed. In addition, the lunar tidal signal is about 50,000 times weaker than the tides raised by a botanist making observations in the field.

The journal Biology Letters declined to publish a comment that describes the limitations of the data and interpretation and that proposes an alternate hypothesis (chance). This comment was later published in the Journal of Biological Rhythms (J. L. Margot 2015).

Regrettably, a review article on the Gnetales (S. M. Ickert-Bond and S. S. Renner 2016) states the poorly supported claim of a lunar influence on E. foeminea as fact, without describing the limitations of the data and interpretation, and without mentioning the alternate hypothesis.

On 2016 Apr 26, Jean-Luc Margot commented:

This article includes the following claims: 1) the timing of peak pollination in Ephedra foeminea coincides with the full moon in July, 2) the plant can detect the full moon through light or gravity, 3) the full-moon detection trait is an evolutionary adaptation that aids the navigation by pollinating insects.

These extraordinary claims are made on the basis of 3 data points. There is no warning or acknowledgment about the possibility that the approximate coincidence between the 3 observed pollination peaks and the full moon could be entirely fortuitous. A chance alignment at the level observed by the authors is expected in about 0.5% of similarly constructed studies. Because the phenological record is extensive, it is straightforward to identify multiple instances of seemingly striking coincidences between plant development phases and the full moon. When a sufficiently long record is examined, however, the apparent association with the full moon reliably disappears. It is likely that additional observations of pollination in E. foeminea will invalidate the claims described in the article.

The authors invoked the detection of lunar tides by E. foeminea as a possible mechanism for the observed coincidence. Because of the form of the gravity potential, the gravity signals at new moon and full moon are roughly equivalent, and one would not expect a gravity trigger at full moon that does not also act at new moon, when pollination peaks were not observed. In addition, the lunar tidal signal is about 50,000 times weaker than the tides raised by a botanist making observations in the field.

The journal Biology Letters declined to publish a comment that describes the limitations of the data and interpretation and that proposes an alternate hypothesis (chance). This comment was later published in the Journal of Biological Rhythms (J. L. Margot 2015).

Regrettably, a review article on the Gnetales (S. M. Ickert-Bond and S. S. Renner 2016) states the poorly supported claim of a lunar influence on E. foeminea as fact, without describing the limitations of the data and interpretation, and without mentioning the alternate hypothesis.