Publications — photos

March 22, 2023 Excuse me? Yes, you read that correctly. It is not a flower you are seeing in this image, but rather a collection of several flowers! Let me explain. In some plants, what might appear at first glance to be a flower is an inflorescence composed of many flowers. In the case of the Asteraceae family, all these flowers are grouped in a structure called a capitulum, and for the Araceae family, we refer to it as a spadix. In the picture, we see the inflorescence of the cup plant [Lien], a member of the Asteraceae family. Its...

Seeds Fascinate Me! March 22, 2023 Ah, seeds! These tiny capsules of life, sometimes less than 0.5 mm in diameter, contain all the genetic material, the embryo, and the energy reserves needed for the reproduction of the parent plant. Some seeds have hard shells to withstand the rigors of the digestive system of animals that eat the fruits containing them, while others have air-filled coats that allow them to float to their destination.   Samaras or akenes equipped with aigrets can fly far from the parent plant to disperse, while other seeds have hooks that latch onto the fur of animals...