Prepare to rattle your funny bones with this bone-afide collection of skeleton puns!
21.08.2023 - 11:37 / theunconventionalgardener.com / guest
Header image: Macromitrium microstomum is found throughout New Zealand on the trunks or branches of smooth-barked trees, or on rock. Silvia Pressel, Author provided
Katie Field, University of Sheffield and Silvia Pressel, Natural History Museum
When people consider extraordinary plants, most probably don’t spare a thought for moss. It blends in against the green background of plant life, and seems to grow everywhere – whether you want it to or not.
But this group of plants, which actually comprises between 12,000 and 15,000 species, is astonishing. Their almost unique resilience allows them to grow practically everywhere on Earth. They are helping scientists understand the evolution of life, and are one of the most ancient plant groups alive today.
A recent study by an Australian research team found that mosses are the lifeblood of habitats around the world, with plants and soil in better shape almost everywhere they grow.
Despite their importance, mosses are often overlooked due to their diminutive size. The smallest mosses, known as micromosses, measure only a few millimetres in length. Even the largest moss, Dawsonia superba, a species native to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, only reaches heights of up to 50cm – a giant among mosses, yet still smaller than the average houseplant.
But in fact, mosses help hold up entire ecosystems.
Many people think of plants as nice-looking greens. Essential for clean air, yes, but simple organisms. A step change in research is shaking up the way scientists think about plants: they are far more complex and more like us than you might imagine. This blossoming field of science is too delightful to do it justice in one or two stories. This article is part of a series, Plant
Prepare to rattle your funny bones with this bone-afide collection of skeleton puns!
Header image: Lupinus albus (altramuces o chochitos), by Calapito via Wikimedia Commons.
Hailing from South Africa, agapanthus can be evergreen or deciduous; the deciduous varieties are the most hardy in this country. The evergreen varieties grow in the southern Cape in milder areas, so will need frost protection in the UK – or they can be grown in pots and brought inside.
Header image: Andrew Taylor. Spud Fit/Facebook
Header image: Suited up to simulate the conditions of working outside on Mars. Jonathan Clarke (the author, left) with visiting engineer Michael Curtis-Rouse, from UK Space Agency (right). Jonathan Clarke personal collection, Author provided.
One of the great joys of spring is seeing trees leaf out and bloom. They bring so much joy, and do so much for us, and yet are rarely valued as they should be. In particular, ancient trees are wondrous, magical things. Impressive and complex structures, they have lots of nooks and crannies in which wildlife can find a home. As fungi feed on the tree they provide food for woodland creatures, and a hollowed out trunk provides shelter. Although ancient trees are in the final stage of their life, and technically in decline, they have a lot to give, and can go on living for a long time, depending on the species.
The red planet. It may hold no life, but is it dead? [Image credit: NASA/JPL]
Patrick Major, University of Reading and Chris Scott, University of Reading
The role downunder played in helping track the Apollo 8 mission to the Moon.
Lauren Samuelsson, University of Wollongong
Header image: One of the Vanguard satellites being checked out at Cape Canaveral, Florida in 1958. NASA
Allyson Brady, McMaster University