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| 1 | 2 |  » Stats |
Members: 50,143
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| | Welcome to our newest member, PeterHA17 | |  | 
19-04-2011, 04:53 PM
|  | Wild Member | | Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: North Kent
Posts: 116
| | | Is this a plant or a fungus?
  
Anybody know what these are? They have appeared at this time in the past 2-3 years. Thanks, Robin |
19-04-2011, 05:17 PM
|  | Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: May 2010 Location: Snowdonia, N. Wales
Posts: 3,901
| | | Re: Is this a plant or a fungus?
It's a plant called Field Horsetail - Equisetum arvense.
A very primitive form of plant. It was plants like these, in a much larger size (up to 100 feet) that formed the coal seams during the Carboniferous Period around 300 million years ago.
A warm welcome to WAB by the way.
Dorts.
Last edited by Dorts; 19-04-2011 at 05:19 PM.
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19-04-2011, 06:50 PM
|  | Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Posts: 3,648
| | | Re: Is this a plant or a fungus?
hi
in addition to what Dorts has said, these are the sporophyte phase of the plant; the lack of chlorophyll is one of the things that can make them look very 'un-plantlike'; if you visit this site in a couple of months time, green, very different-looking stems (though by then clearly belonging to a plant) will have appeared
not all horsetail species have these separate phases - marsh horsetail, for example has the spore bearing 'cones' on its green stems
Chris
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"You must know it's right - The spore is on the wind tonight"
--Steely Dan, "Rose Darling" |
19-04-2011, 07:27 PM
| | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 613
| | | Re: Is this a plant or a fungus?
Horsetails are stunning plants  |
22-04-2011, 01:17 PM
|  | Member of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: herts
Posts: 332
| | | Re: Is this a plant or a fungus?
I have never seen these, thanks for sharing
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24-04-2011, 07:16 PM
| | Wild Member | | Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: North Kent
Posts: 116
| | | Re: Is this a plant or a fungus?
Spot on. Here are the same plants with their green stems.   |
24-04-2011, 07:32 PM
| | Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Posts: 3,648
| | | Re: Is this a plant or a fungus?
Quote:
Originally Posted by robin28  Spot on. | Quote:
Originally Posted by hamadryad I have never seen these, thanks for sharing | bet you've seen these!
Chris
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"You must know it's right - The spore is on the wind tonight"
--Steely Dan, "Rose Darling"
Last edited by Chris Yeates; 24-04-2011 at 07:35 PM.
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25-04-2011, 10:38 AM
| | Wild Member | | Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: North Kent
Posts: 116
| | | Re: Is this a plant or a fungus?
Ok, I need a small refresher in basic biology, please. A plant with spores processing chlorophyll? I thought fungi did spores? What are the distinguishing characteristics? |
25-04-2011, 10:55 AM
| | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Herefordshire
Posts: 850
| | | Re: Is this a plant or a fungus?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Yeates hi
in addition to what Dorts has said, these are the sporophyte phase of the plant; the lack of chlorophyll is one of the things that can make them look very 'un-plantlike'; if you visit this site in a couple of months time, green, very different-looking stems (though by then clearly belonging to a plant) will have appeared
not all horsetail species have these separate phases - marsh horsetail, for example has the spore bearing 'cones' on its green stems
Chris | This is somewhat misleading. Both the brown cone-bearing stems and the green photosynthetic stems belong to the sporophyte generation - they are parts of the same plant. The alternate generation (which grows from the spores, and is also photosynthetic) is the gametophyte, which is very small and inconspicuous. All land plants produce spores and have this alternation of generations. | | |
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