A current tangential interest, when I tire of writing up articles for submission and need a break, is just looking for tiny details in Nature. For example, mildewed foliage
If these are magnified sufficiently, amazing structures appear.
Shown below is such an example, taken from wilting leaves of Norway Maple
Acer platanoides. The image shows the cleistotechia (= sporangia with spore-filled sacks inside) and their adornment of twisted appendages. The number and shape of the appendages are important taxonomic characters. This particular species
Sawadaea tulasnei has appendages with hook-shaped tips which sometimes are split in two. Straight capture through my Aspen infinity focus microscope, 10 partial images stacked in Zerene Stacker.
