Pretty moss 'flower' (new image added!)

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:51 pm

I've seen these little 'pod' things sticking up out of moss before, so I plucked a couple today and stuck one in front of the trusty Nikon CF 10x objective. I wasn't expecting to see _this_ on the end!

Stack of 59 images. Lens at around optimal extension for 10:1(ish).

For context this is the whole 'pod'

Stack of 83 images. Nikon 10x CF objective at minimum bellows extension for ?5?:1.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 6:30 pm

Good grief -- how completely unexpected!

I've never noticed anything like this either. Of course, I haven't spent what you'd call a lot of time poking around in mosses. Yet another place to explore, I guess!

--Rik

PS. You have some bits of streaky border showing on the right and bottom -- probably left over from the alignment process.

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 6:53 pm

Good catch, thanks Rik! I've sorted the borders now!

Gérard-64 · Post by **Gérard-64** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 8:45 pm

very interesting Lauriek! Nice shots!

Jbailey · Post by **Jbailey** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 1:08 pm

Excelent renditions, Laurie! It's amazing what folks can find if they get their noses close enough to the ground.

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 3:52 am

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Incidentally Brian (LordV) mentioned on another site that this is a 'sporangiophore' and apparently it opens up like a pepper shaker when mature!

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 8:37 am

It looks hungry. You should feed it!

Harold

Cyclops · Post by **Cyclops** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:11 pm

Nice sporangiaphore shot,never seen one like that tho. The first one looks almost like a Protea!

Aynia · Post by **Aynia** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:23 pm

Harold Gough wrote:It looks hungry. You should feed it!

Harold

Definitely looks quite fierce.....

Fantastic shot(s).

Cyberspider · Post by **Cyberspider** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:10 pm

wow...that' s what I call a detail! Very good...here is another image with "less" detail

Walter Piorkowski · Post by **Walter Piorkowski** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 12:08 pm

Thank you for posting these Lauriek. I have been wanting to shoot this subject for many years. This is a good kick in the butt for me to photograpgh the many shapes and varieties of this subject. Well done.
Walt

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 2:13 pm

Thanks all!

Here's another shot of a similar sporangiophore I found earlier today. I'm just putting the finishing touches to my vertical rig and this is one of the first stacks from it! (Well I say finishing, in as much as these things are /ever/ finished!)

Planapo · Post by **Planapo** » Fri Feb 27, 2009 11:13 am

Laurie, these are gorgeous images!

I hope I won't be regarded as a quibbler, but one thing about the somewhat complex and bemusing terminology:
This bulky end of the moss sporophyt (the moss sporophyt is sometimes also called sporogonium) that contains and sets free the spores, is a sporangium.
In mosses this sporangium is often called the moss spore capsule. So your photos show a moss spore capsule or sporangium.
To be more precise, the last photo depicts the peristom of the moss capsule. Mosses of the genus Bryum have a peristom of such structure as in in your photo, but I'm not sure if it's safe to say that it's a moss of this genus.

The "sporangiophor" (phorein, Greek: to carry) would be the thin stalk only, that is carrying the capsule/sporangium. In mosses this stalk is often called the seta.

--Betty

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Fri Feb 27, 2009 12:04 pm

Thanks Betty!

Please quibble away!

(With any of my ids, whether taxonomical or anatomical!)

I just thought sporangiophore sounded a lot better than 'pod thing'!

So the whole stalk/pod assembly is the sporophyt, the 'pod thing' is the sporangium, and the inner part of the 'flower' bit on the end of the pod is the peristom (have I got that right?) - that's all good info, thanks!

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:48 pm

In English, "peristome" with the trailing "e".

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peristome .

Likewise for "sporophyte", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sporophyte .

--Rik