The temperate rainforest of Olympic National Park is extremely rich in bryophyte species. I was happy to find one ‘sporing’, because it’s a bit late in the year for most of them to be reproducing.
Dicranum fuscenscens
Tag: let’s botanize
sharp bits
So it turns out that rose thorns are actually prickles.
phyllotaxy
roses and tulips and lilac, oh my!
I’m a quarter way through the Let’s Botanize prompts. I decided to respond to this one more illustratively than nature journally.
petal veins
Petals and sepals, the flower’s outermost parts, are usually the most leaflike. They’re often broad and flat, and many sepals are green enough to photosynthesize, even containing stomata. As flowers evolved, petals became specialized to attract pollinators. Today, most petals have little to no chlorophyll and instead rely on many other pigments for their color.
aligned
leaf textures
Liquidambar styraciflua
aerial
thigmotropism
Thigmotropism occurs due to unilateral growth inhibition. In twining and tendrilled plants, the growth rate on the side which is being touched is slower than on the side opposite the touch. The resultant growth pattern is to curl around the object which is touching the plant.
Roots also rely on touch to navigate their way through the soil. Generally, roots have a negative touch response, meaning when they feel an object, they grow away from it. This allows the roots to go through the soil with minimum resistance. Because of this behavior, roots are said to be negatively thigmotropic.
I’m tucking this new word into my vocabulary pocket for a future scrabble game.
hashiworks 