Nature walk observations - plants (June 11th, 2023)
As I strolled through the lush greenery, I was immediately captivated by the multitude of flowers and their unique shapes and colors. Each wildflower seemed to possess its unique charm and character, displaying an incredible diversity of shapes, colors, and fragrances. This connects with the fact that angiosperms have an extremely high diversity with approximately 25,000 species - this is partly due to the success driven by evolution of flowers as a reproductive organ through heterospory, and also coevolution with pollinators (I noticed many bees during my walk!) I remembered thinking about how all land plants were descendants from aquatic plants, therefore, many plants had to evolve to combat land challenges such as the possibility of drying out and harmful UV rays. I noticed some of plants that were out in the open without shade seemed to dry out and shrivel the fastest. Additionally, there was an abundant amount of ferns which I learned are seedless vascular plants. The forest were filled with ferns. I particularly analyzed the unique leaf structure of ferns, called fronds, which allows them to efficiently capture and retain moisture. With this in mind, it made sense why the forests were covered with ferns, it was the perfect environment for them to thrive! Also, ferns reproduce with spores rather than seeds, allowing them to colonize new areas within the forest and establish themselves in suitable microhabitats. The weather was very windy and also humid (it has been raining for three consecutive days) so I can imagine how easy it must be for plants like ferns to spread their spores and continue to grow and survive. Furthermore, I did notice some insects such as spiders and moths which start to come out during this time of year. My favorite find was this long annelida terrestrial earthworm which was digging a hole into the moist ground. It is quite common to see earthworms just above the dirt after days of downpour rain. I also had the pleasure to find a small, orange slug (Mollusca) which was covering the moss with its slimy mucus. I watched the slug and tried to connect its characteristics to those that were categorized in the Mollusca branch - such as the mantle and the soft body of the slug better known as the visceral mass. Overall, I found this nature walk observation to be very interesting and helpful as it connected many aspects of the Tree of Life in just a day!
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