AMAZING PLANTS

60 pictures avalaible

TEXT Pedro LIMA

To Eat and Drink, Extreme Forms of Plants are ready for anything! In the course of Evolution, certain groups of vegetal life have been randomly endowed with peculiar strategies and tactics so as to find water or nutrients to sustain themselves, which are beyond imagination. From the rarest specimens to the most common plants, all of these rather clever plants display a show of intelligence which makes us wonder. And to think that they have no idea at all of their own cleverness ! Here is a series of examples collected in real life situation thanks to electronic microscopic scanning photography.

[email protected] / 7, rue François Quesnay 78490 MÉRÉ, France / tél : 33 (0)1 34 86 03 48 / fax : 33 (0)1 34 86 00 44 / www.goetgheluck.com Aridity, clouds and vegetation. Ocotea foetens. The leaf of Water tanks dug by the Ocotea foetens. The leaf of Ocotea foetens. The leaf of Hierro’s Island. The Canaries. The Canaries Laurel captures natives of the Canaries at the The Canaries Laurel captures The Canaries Laurel captures moisture from the mists. foot of the Laurel trees. moisture from the mists. moisture from the mists. Hierro’s Island. The Canaries. Hierro’s Island. The Canaries. Hierro’s Island. The Canaries. Hierro’s Island. The Canaries. 005903 005901 006010 005902 005900

An ancient representation of Tillandsia x victoriae. Tillandsia ionantha. Young Tillandsia funckiana. Tillandsia. Tillandia streptophylla. the “Garoé”. Hierro island - plant growing up on a fellow The plant harnesses water Tillandsia. Water is trapped Canaries. creature. from the drizzle. under the scaly on the surface of the plant. 009507 031697 005906 005907 009510

Tillandsia usneoïdes. A colony Lythops full to bursting. Fenestria. The upper part of Fenestria in bloom. Fenestria. The upper part of of hundreds of plants living “on the plant collect the least drop the leaf captures the tiniest air”. of dew. drop of water.

009509 033961 033955 035083 033956 Argyroderma. « Living stone ». Phalaenopsis sp. Orchid Orchid seeds viewed through Orchid seed surrounded by a Young shoots of an orchid flowers. Far East. an electronic scanning mushroom’s mycelium. The growing on their mother’s microscope. plant needs this mushroom to stem. Aerial roots are ready germinate. yet to collect water. 033959 013040 033951 033963 026825

Orchid’s root on the bark of a Orchid’s root on the bark of a Section of Orchid’s root to Viscum album. Mistletoe on Viscum album. Mistletoe. tree. The whitish part is tree. The whitish part is show the tubes of the water poplar tree. Europe. Germination of the seeds on a covered with cells capable of covered with cells capable of tanks in this epiphyte flower. maple tree branch. Europe. storing water like a sponge. storing water like a sponge. 031780 031596 033962 008226 002226

Viscum album. Mistletoe on Viscum album. Mistletoe. The Asplenium nidus. Bird’s nest Asplenium nidus. Bird’s nest Platycerium sp. Platycerium or Maple tree branch. Europe. rootlike structures are deeply fern. Malaysia. fern. Malaysia. Sprouting of Stag’s Horn fern. The leaf stuck inside the branch of the young ferns. fronds form a basin to capture host tree. Europe. dead leaves. 007466 005894 000145 011004 033950 Platycerium sp. Platycerium or Pinguicula caudata. Common Pinguicula primuliflora. Pinguicula primuliflora. A Pinguicula caudata. The wing Stag’s Horn fern. The leaf butterwort. Its leaves catches Common butterwort. Its leaves greenfly stuck in the buttery of the greenfly is glued. fronds form a basin to capture a lot of midges.Mexico. catches a lot of midges. tentacles of the plant. Europe. dead leaves. 033967 031765 000017 010659 033976

Utricularia sandersonii. Utricularia sandersonii. Utricularia sandersonii. Drosera pulchella 'rosea'. Drosera binata. This Drosera Bladderworts. South Africa. Bladder-like sac, are in the Bladder-like sac, ready to Drosera. Australia, with forked leaves has trapped ground. South Africa. suck a worm in. South Africa. New-Zealand. a green lacewing.

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Drosera binata. This Drosera Drosera pulchella 'rosea'. Nepenthes boissiense “rubra”. Nepenthes ventricosa. Nepenthes ventricosa. The top with forked leaves has trapped Drosera. Greenfly caught by Nepenthes. Nepenthes. of the pitcher are covered with a green lacewing. the tentacles. (Electronic downward facing hairs meant Scanning Microscopy). to prevent the preys from going up. 009487 009489 009495 031563 009492 Nepenthes ventricosa. The Nepenthes x basile. A fly Nepenthes ventricosa. Pitcher Nepenthes x basile. Nepenthes ventricosa. edges of the pitcher are comes near the slippery edge. from the above. Nepenthes. A wasp drowning Nepenthes. The smooth and covered with downward facing in the digestive liquid. slippery surface of the upper hairs meant to prevent the part of the pitcher prevents preys from going up. the insects from going up. 033975 009494 015995 009496 009498

Sarracenia psittacina. Parrot Darlingtonia californica. Cobra Sarracenia leucophylla. A Sarracenia psittacina. Parrot Sarracenia psittacina. Parrot Pitcher Sarracenia. USA. plant. Pitcher. USA. dipterous comes near the Pitcher Sarracenia. A fly is Pitcher Sarracenia, USA. The slippery edge attracted by the trapped, USA. remains of ants after the sap of the plant. feast. 033948 012126 009499 009500 009502

Dionea muscipula. Venus Dionea muscipula. Venus Dionea muscipula. Venus Dionea muscipula. Venus Dionaea muscipula. A fly is Flytrap. The traps are wide Flytrap. The traps are wide Flytrap. One of the trigger Flytrap. A fly caught in the visible throught the traps. open. open show hairs controlling the shutting of trap of this carnivorous plant. the trap. 009481 009482 033978 020692 012989