Biomedical Ephemera, or: A Frog for Your Boils

biomedicalephemera:

unnaturalist:

by Ernst Haeckel

Orchids are horrible to germinate from seed, to the point that it’s rare for anyone besides professional greenhouses to germinate most of the varieties. They’re mycoheterotrphic organisms until they can develop their own nutrients, and if they don’t come into contact with the specific symbiotic fungus that inhabits their roots and brings nutrients to the plant from the surrounding soil. The orchid seeds themselves are so small that they can’t store enough nutrients to get to the surface.