martes, 19 de abril de 2011

Bug on a stick!

This little guy is a male Polytrichum juniperinum and what you are seeing is a splash cup that is used to distribute their swimming sperm.

This is the beautiful lacy pattern of the leaves of Sphagnum, the moss that can absorb water 20 times heavier than its body! The white cells are the water holding leucocysts and the green, sausage-like cells are the photosynthetic chlorocysts.

Here is Sphagnum macroscopically:

And, finally the bug on a stick! This is the sporophyte of Buxbaumia piperi and it doesn't have leaves. The gametophyte is just a thin green film on the soil.

No hay comentarios:

Publicar un comentario