Lycopodium

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Lycopodium
Photo Information
Copyright: John Denk (jpdenk) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 202 W: 1 N: 315] (847)
Genre: Plants
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-10-01
Categories: Flowers
Camera: Nikon D70, Micro Nikkor AF60mm f2.8
Exposure: f/8, 1/20 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes (Fill) Flash: Yes
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-03-18 9:55
Viewed: 434
Points: 10
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
I'm not sure of the species, but it's a Lycopodium, a fern-relative found in forests. These were growing in mixed coniferous-deciduous forest in northern Wisconsin last October, and the lush green foliage with the lighter green fertile tips interspersed with the brown tree leaves looked nice to me.

I put this in the "Flower" category, because that's the closest I could come. We need more categories! There ought to be a "Fern and fern relative" category, among others.

Here's what Wikipedia says about Lycopodiums:

"Lycopodium is a genus of clubmosses, also known as ground pines, in the family Lycopodiaceae, a family of fern-allies (see Pteridophyta). They are flowerless, vascular, terrestrial or epiphytic plants, with widely-branched, erect, prostrate or creeping stems, with small, simple, needle-like or scale-like leaves that cover the stem and branches thickly. The fertile leaves are arranged in cone-like strobilli. Specialized leaves (sporophylls) bear reniform spore-cases (sporangia) in the axils, which contain spores of one kind only. These club-shaped capsules give the genus its name.

Lycopods reproduce sexually by spores. The plant has an underground sexual phase that produces gametes, and this alternates in the life cycle with the spore-producing plant. The prothallium developed from the spore is a subterranean mass of tissue of considerable size and bears both the male and female organs (antheridium and archegonia). However, it is more common that they are distributed vegetatively through above or below ground rhizomes.

There are approximately 200 species, with 37 species widely distributed in temperate and tropical climates, though they are confined to mountains in the tropics."
tuslaw, boreocypriensis, Bass has marked this note useful
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ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To Bass: Thanksjpdenk 1 03-29 23:56
To tuslaw: Thanksjpdenk 2 03-20 14:22
To boreocypriensis: Thank youjpdenk 1 03-19 10:28
To sandu_andreea: Thank youjpdenk 1 03-19 10:26
To jazdzurka: Thanksjpdenk 1 03-19 10:14
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Critiques [Translate]

Hello John
Very good picture of the plant that don't appear too often on TrekNature.
Good POV - it looks like the picture of the forest taken from the sky.
Nice colours too.
Best wishes
Ania

John,
Great composition, love the mixed contrasting colors of the green ferns to the browns and yellows of the old fallen leaves. Very sharp and detailed images. Spring is coming!!
Ron

Gorgeous colours and composition! I wish I would make such a picture, the moss and lichens are really great subjects to photo, too bad that you don't see them very often on trek.Thanks for sharing!

Hi friend John,
Splendid shot and nice composition of these strange and also beutiful plants. DOF is great with all other criteria. Thanks for sharing this beauty my friend. Cheers,

Bayram

  • Great 
  • Bass Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 97 W: 0 N: 116] (465)
  • [2008-03-29 18:50]
  • [+]

Hi John,
I saw some lycopodiums in Patagonia, specially in Chile (lycopodium magellanicum); it´s very similar to this one, but ones i saw are smaller than this one.

The picture is great. I love details of those żoaks? leaves in the middle of such greens.

Good POV, light and details. Great blur BG. Focus is good too.
Have a nice day,
tfs
Brenda

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