EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


Mature Snapdragon Flowers Remain Closed

July 29, 2022

Menashe_snapdragon1a

Menashe_snapdragon2

Photographer: Menashe Davidson

Summary Author: M enashe Davidson

The time of flower opening marks the onset of a period in which
pollinators are attracted by the flower sweetness, leading a pollen
removal and pollination. In many species the flowers are open
permanently, whereby the opening period is terminated by a closure
movement, or by petal withering or abscission. But there are few
species, such as snapdragons, where mature flowers stay closed.

Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus, family Plantaginaceae) have a wide
range of flower colors, and they’re easily grown in gardens. The
snapdragon flowers are closed flowers (top photo) with two modified
petals, described as lips, that essentially prevent honeybees from
penetrating them. Note, however, that the flowers can be opened when
they're pressed on their sides (bottom photo). Here we can see the
inside of the flower, where there are four stamens with white
filaments surrounding a pistil (green stalk). Bumblebees, which
are much bigger than honeybees, are the main pollinators for
snapdragons because they’re larger size permits them to open the closed
flowers. Photos taken in March 2022, from my home garden in Rishon
LeZion, Israel.


Rishon LeZion, Israel Coordinates 31.9730, 34.7925


Recent EPODs

idahos_granitic_city_of_rocks
tadpoles_early_amphibian_life_cycle water_eruption
nature_reclaims_lost_shoe dungeness_spit_beach
dendrite_inclusion_in_opal
-
Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 21 weeks, 5 days, 21 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


Basket Stinkhorn

September 30, 2022

Stinghorn

Photographer: Mila Zinkova
Summary Author: Mila Zinkova

Shown above is the Basket Stinkhorn, Clathrus ruber, that I came
upon during a walk in the woods not far from San Francisco, California.
Its odor is repugnant to you and I but is evidently like catnip to
flies. " They flock to her foetid scent, feed upon the
spore-impregnated greenish-black gleba, and soar off, spreading
stinkhorn spores in their wake."

Most often found in temperate deciduous forests, Clathrus ruber
hatches from an egg-like film. At the base of which is a mycelial
“root,” that at this stage has little scent and might be edible to
some. However, it doesn’t take long before its stench is so
overpowering that only a creature like a fly could be attracted to it.
Click here to see a video from hatching to decaying.



Related EPODs

Basket Stinkhorn Use of Wild Plants in Floriculture The
Wonder of Roots: Part 2 Bird's Nest Fungus Red Coloration in
Salt Marshes Lightning Scar on Tulip Tree
More...

Plant Links

* Discover Life
* Tree Encyclopedia
* What are Phytoplankton?
* Encyclopedia of Life - What is a Plant?
* USDA Plants Database
* University of Texas Native Plant Database
* Plants in Motion
* What Tree is It?

-
Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 30 weeks, 4 days, 21 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


On the Wind: Plant Seed Dispersal

November 30, 2022

Menashe_windandseeds_Picture1

Photographer: Menashe Davidson

Summary Author: Menashe Davidson:

Seed dispersal is an adaptive mechanism in all seed-bearing plants,
participating in the movement or transport of seeds away from their
parent plant to ensure the germination and survival of at least some of
their seeds. It can take many forms, yet most dispersal mechanisms fall
within the categories of gravity, wind, water, and animal
dispersal. Species that use wind dispersal have a windsail-like
structure, called the "pappus," that generally opens and closes in
response to moisture. On dry, windy days the pappus opens, catches
the wind, and transports the seeds far away.

Shown in the collage above are images of seeds, and pappus, of 4
different species of plants, from different habitats. All of them have
the same purpose – to transport the seeds far away from the mother
plant.
1. Nerium oleander - Oleander, Bush, Public area, taken January
2016
2. Adenium obesum - Desert rose, Ornamental, Home-garden, taken
January 2019
3. Stephanotis floribunda - Madagascar Jazmin, Ornamental climber,
Home-garden, taken June 2022
4. Araujia sericifera - Moth plant, Invasive vine, Citrus
plantation, taken August 2017

Click here to see a video of Gone with the Wind, taken from my home
garden in Rishon Le Zion, Israel.


Rishon Le Zion, Israel Coordinates: 31.9730, 34.7925


Related EPODs

On the Wind: Plant Seed Dispersal Carob Mushroom in Early Stage
of Growth Lamiaceae Family of Aromatic Flowering Plants Basket
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Plant Links

* Discover Life
* Tree Encyclopedia
* What are Phytoplankton?
* Encyclopedia of Life - What is a Plant?
* USDA Plants Database
* University of Texas Native Plant Database
* Plants in Motion
* What Tree is It?

-
Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 39 weeks, 2 days, 21 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


Crepuscular Rays Observed from Italian Alps

December 30, 2022


Tramonto sull'Aiguille Noire de Peuterey

Photographer: Valter Luna

Summary Authors: Valter Luna; Jim Foster

Shown above is a breathtaking set of crepuscular rays that I
observed over the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey in the Italian Alps.
Rays such as this while most often associated with clouds near the
horizon can also take shape when sunlight filters through mountain
passes, as was the case on this mid-summer’s evening. However, for
these rays to be seen, the atmosphere must be dusty. Sunlight
scattered by dust particles, and or other aerosols suspended in
the atmosphere, act to project the rays across the sky. Photo taken on
July 29, 2022.

Photo details: Nikon D100 camera; Sigma lens 18-250 mm (18 mm); 1/250
sec exposure; f / 16; ISO 200


Aiguille Noire de Peuterey, Italy Coordinates: 45.815, 6.893611


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Coast of Croatia
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Atmospheric Effects Links

* Atmospheric Optics
* Optic Picture of Day: Gruppo Astrofili Galileo Galilei
* Color and Light in Nature
* The Colors of Twillight and Sunset
* Refraction Index
* Image Gallery: Atmospheric Effects
* What is a Rainbow?

-
Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 43 weeks, 4 days, 20 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)