Nature Walk May 29, 2024
Today I went on a nature walk that I found very refreshing. I was working earlier that day, drove right to a trail near where I live, and enjoyed the beautiful conservation area. It was nothing short of a beautiful evening. It was around 5:10 when I started and the temperature was about 70 degrees. I saw a variety of vascular plants, angiosperms particularly, and I believe only one gymnosperms in a pine conifer. The first two links I took some pictures of moss to highlight the most common nonvascular plant I encountered. I took these as potential evidence of bacteria and archaea.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/219195704
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/219200299
The links below contain my favorite angiosperms I saw today. I did not see many flowers, but I did see what looks like a False Solomon's-Seal and dandelion. I now clearly understand that flowers are for sexual reproduction and contain male and female gametes.
false solomon https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/219200325
dandelion https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/219198449
The links below contain a pine and a pine cone. I observed this gymnosperm carefully and the fact that it is a vascular plant without flowers. Seeds are not in a fruit, but in a cone.
pine https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/219209635
cone https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/219197132
I observed some more seedless vascular plants in ferns. These are unique as they reproduce using haploid spores.
fern https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/219196416