#lycopod — Public Fediverse posts

Terrarium mission accomplished (I hope) #Huperzia #Selaginella #clubmoss #spikemoss #lycopod

Terrarium mission accomplished (I hope) #Huperzia #Selaginella #clubmoss #spikemoss #lycopod

A 407-million-year-old #plant’s leaves skipped the usual #Fibonacci spirals
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/fossil-plant-leaves-fibonacci-spirals

Leaves and #sporangia developed in rare non-#FibonacciSpirals in early leafy plants https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg4014 by Holly-Anne Turner et al.

"#Lycopod leaves evolved separately from leaves in other types of #plants, but some modern #lycopods do exhibit Fibonacci spiraling. That suggests the spiraling patterns may have evolved separately in different lineages of plants"

A 407-million-year-old #plant’s leaves skipped the usual #Fibonacci spirals
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/fossil-plant-leaves-fibonacci-spirals

Leaves and #sporangia developed in rare non-#FibonacciSpirals in early leafy plants https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg4014 by Holly-Anne Turner et al.

"#Lycopod leaves evolved separately from leaves in other types of #plants, but some modern #lycopods do exhibit Fibonacci spiraling. That suggests the spiraling patterns may have evolved separately in different lineages of plants"

I treated myself to a little eBay auction a couple of weeks ago and bought a peacock spikemoss (Selaginella wildenowii - my seventh species). It has lamellar structures in the upper cuticle of the leaf that cause thin-film interference (like a soap bubble, or an oil spill in a puddle) that make it flash blue iridescence at particular angles.

#Selaginella #Spikemoss #Lycopod #Iridescence

I treated myself to a little eBay auction a couple of weeks ago and bought a peacock spikemoss (Selaginella wildenowii - my seventh species). It has lamellar structures in the upper cuticle of the leaf that cause thin-film interference (like a soap bubble, or an oil spill in a puddle) that make it flash blue iridescence at particular angles.

#Selaginella #Spikemoss #Lycopod #Iridescence

Two of my favourite spikemosses: Selaginella uncinata (peacock spikemoss) and Selaginella erythropus (no common name: I call it octarine spikemoss after Pterry). Both have iridescent leaves due to thin-film interference in the cell wall (S. uncinata) or the stacked thylakoids of the chloroplasts (S. erythropus) but the latter's leaves also have a lot of red pigment, so the iridescence is more difficult to capture in a photo. Easy to grow in a terrarium. #Selaginella #lycopod #spikemoss #clubmoss

Two of my favourite spikemosses: Selaginella uncinata (peacock spikemoss) and Selaginella erythropus (no common name: I call it octarine spikemoss after Pterry). Both have iridescent leaves due to thin-film interference in the cell wall (S. uncinata) or the stacked thylakoids of the chloroplasts (S. erythropus) but the latter's leaves also have a lot of red pigment, so the iridescence is more difficult to capture in a photo. Easy to grow in a terrarium. #Selaginella #lycopod #spikemoss #clubmoss