Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Leaping Spores

The tiny spores of the horsetail plant have four curled appendages, known as "elaters." The elaters curl up when the spore gets wet and then uncurl when it dries. High speed video of the spores shows that they can jump up to 200 times their diameter, vaulting themselves into the air so they will be picked up and scattered by the breeze. Video here.

No comments: