The Biosphere Blog

Introduction Plants are so incredibly diverse in their morphology, that it wouldn’t surprise me if there were more descriptors in botany than in zoology, biochemistry and microbiology combined! (And that is truly saying something.) Every minute… more »

This little fellow never got the message to elongate! Complete with active ant pollinators. I didn’t even notice them until processing this photo! They are collecting the nectar from the nectary disc of the last remaining newly-opened flower - the… more »

This is the final post for the year, and what better subject to end the year with than this awesomely bright and cheerful masterpiece Bee Hotel, made by my friend Sandra! This belongs in a gallery, so I shall caption it as though it were: This will… more »

Have you ever seen these very smooth round and oval shapes in leaves before, and not known what made them? These aren’t caused by caterpillars, which produce jagged edges. These very smooth edges are the tell-tale sign (to those in the know!) of… more »

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants, algae, cyanobacteria, and a few other bacterial species convert light energy into chemical energy, which is stored as a food source. Photosynthetic organisms thus produce their own food, and are called… more »

Around 7pm the other evening I was perusing my trees, and — as I often do, gently pulled down a fruiting branchlet above to look more closely with my loupe at the flowers and developing fruits along it. To my absolute horror it came away in my hand! I… more »