dandelion

When I looked at a taraxacum (dandelion) I never in a lifetime thought it would look something like a wall that was almost wooden looking.

 

40X

 

 

 

 

What amazed me the most when looking at it was the spirogyra (which looks like a cluster of noodles or a piece of spring) which, believe it or not, is a cluster of chloroplasts!


 

 

 

100X

 

 

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When the spirogyra was stained, it looks more clear with a better quality.


Spirogyras reproduce when water is warm and there are lots of minerals. The cells quickly divide and the chain grows longer. It may break to form new chains.





Now you may also be wondering: Do they reproduce when they're in cold weather? Certainly!
When cold, 2 neighboring threads and tiny projections reach the opposite cells and form a tube connecting both sides. The things that are in the cell shrink and move to the other cell's cytoplasm.
This type of reproduction is called Conjugation.


 

1000X oil

 




All these pictures were taken from a vertical angle of the dandelion*