Modified Leaves: Insect Traps

I wish I could have been there.

Daytona beach 1957

Dunno if it has happened, but it’s accurate

Happy national periodic table day!

Helix Nebula

Images: NASA, NOAO, ESA, the Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M. Meixner (STScI), and T.A. Rector (NRAO).

An all-time classic to celebrate St. Valentine’s day! 🤗💘

Ferns

Ferns are more advanced primitive vascular plants. They have true roots, stems, and leaves. Ferns do not have seeds, but produce spores instead. Fern’s lifecycle, unlike primitive non-vascular plants such as bryophytes, is dominated by the sporophyte generation. Some interesting terminology associated with ferns are frond, pinnae, sori, rhizome, and fiddlehead. A frond describes the entire blade of the fern and the smaller individual leaflets are called pinnae. Sori describes clusters of sporangia on the underside of the pinnae (Sori are depicted in the second photo). A rhizome is an underground stem that puts out shoots and adventitious roots. Fiddleheads are furled fronds of a young fern.

“We are analog beings living in a digital world, facing a quantum future.” Neil Turok

Modified Stems: Thorn

Thorns are modified branches or stems. Thorns and spines are derived from shoots and leaves respectively, and have vascular bundles inside, whereas prickles (like rose prickles) do not have vascular bundles inside. The tree shown in the picture above is called the honey locust tree, also known as the thorny locust. Just look at those thorns!

Modified Stems Part:   1     2     3     4     5     6

Neither do I 😀😀