We use a specific type of Lycopodium as a control group to calculate pollen counts and various other metrics in palaeoecology. It’s pollen is super distinct.
That’s super neat. Is that little triangular bit at the top a germ pore or something else? It’s funny how you get one clade that takes what you’d think would be a really optimizable form like a spore or a pollen grain and takes a left turn with it. In fungi, Entolomas are really identifiable because their spores are pink and cube shaped.
The Y like structure comes from their formation in a sort of honeycomb cluster of 4. This structure makes them easy to break off from the host and also provides a weak point for germination. :) I wish I could differentiate fungal spores, I see a lot of them.
Oof, I do not envy anyone trying to identify fungi through the fossil record. Color and fruiting body structure tend to play pretty big roles in ID because the spores themselves tend to be small and fragile, so except for a few genera that are known for highly ornamented spores it can be pretty challenging.
We use a specific type of Lycopodium as a control group to calculate pollen counts and various other metrics in palaeoecology. It’s pollen is super distinct.
That’s super neat. Is that little triangular bit at the top a germ pore or something else? It’s funny how you get one clade that takes what you’d think would be a really optimizable form like a spore or a pollen grain and takes a left turn with it. In fungi, Entolomas are really identifiable because their spores are pink and cube shaped.
The Y like structure comes from their formation in a sort of honeycomb cluster of 4. This structure makes them easy to break off from the host and also provides a weak point for germination. :) I wish I could differentiate fungal spores, I see a lot of them.
Oof, I do not envy anyone trying to identify fungi through the fossil record. Color and fruiting body structure tend to play pretty big roles in ID because the spores themselves tend to be small and fragile, so except for a few genera that are known for highly ornamented spores it can be pretty challenging.