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Insights from inside data
Read more: Insights from inside dataTwo previous posts on water and light conditions in my hermetospheres contain some speculations about the conditions inside the glasses, as I did not have the respective measurements at that time. However, sensor technology has advanced to such an extent that small, easy-to-use and sufficiently reliable sensors are now available and affordable. Inspired by PumpkinBeth,…
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Root or shoot?
Read more: Root or shoot?A primeval plant that grows easily in hermetospheres provides insights into the early history of plant development. Initially I had Selaginella uncinata, a spikemoss, growing in a 1 litre jar for a few weeks as a trial. That is how I found that the plant thrives under hermetosphere conditions and spreads quickly (see picture below).…
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Acclimation (3): Peperomia sp.
Read more: Acclimation (3): Peperomia sp.Why does a plant begin to produce miniature leaves after a change in environmental conditions? This is the provisional story of a Peperomia sp. in one of my hermetospheres. The genus Peperomia is one of the largest genera of basal angiosperms, comprising about 1500–1700 species distributed across all (sub-)tropical regions of the world. The greatest…
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Tiny flies find tiny flowers
Read more: Tiny flies find tiny flowersAt first glance, the flowers of aroids (family Araceae) appear much less spectacular than those of other plants. Aroids are therefore loved by plant enthusiasts far more for their foliage than for their flowers. On closer inspection, however, the flowers offer amazing insights. While tropical aroids have been popular as indoor, terrarium or aquarium plants…
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Acclimation (2): Strobilanthes reptans
Read more: Acclimation (2): Strobilanthes reptansWhy does a plant begin to produce oversized leaves as soon as it is placed in a hermetosphere? Let us start the story at the beginning: I recently started a hermetosphere to represent New Guinea. Begonia bipinnatifida with its wonderful, reddish, bipinnate leaves should be the main actor and Strobilanthes reptans as well as Davallia…
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Plant, ant-plant and ant
Read more: Plant, ant-plant and antIn their natural habitat, the melastoma family plant Pachycentria glauca often grow as epiphythes on ant-plants like Hydnophytum and Dischidia (which themselves usually grow epiphytically). Plants that live in a mutualistic association with a colony of ants are called myrmecophytes. Two morphological features of P. glauca are important for this plant-ant interaction: miniature pearl bodies…
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Light conditions
Read more: Light conditionsThis post is last of a three-part series discussing water conditions, nutrient conditions, and light conditions in hermetospheres. When I started my first hermetospheres, I intuitively felt that the place chosen within my apartment did not provide enough natural light for plant growth. I therefore installed LED grow lights, first one, then a second. Now,…
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Succeeding generations (1): Biophytum sensitivum
Read more: Succeeding generations (1): Biophytum sensitivumThe title of his article can be understood in two ways. If you have read my [About], you know that my goal in dealing with hermetospheres is to design miniature systems in which each plant reproduces over several generations. With this post, I begin a series of successful examples of second or third generation plants…
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A tiny cosmopolitan
Read more: A tiny cosmopolitanWhen I started with hermetospheres, mosses were not my first priority. They sometimes came as a stowaway with other plants, and I usually let them grow. They did not trouble and formed a welcome ground cover. Moss first caught my attention when spore capsules developed on long, thin stems in my very first hermetosphere jar.…
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A mysterious orchid with boat-shaped flowers
Read more: A mysterious orchid with boat-shaped flowersVery little is known about the orchid Restepia cymbula. According to C.A. Luer (1996), who described the species in the Icones Pleurothallidarium, its presumptive discoverer was Mario Portilla, later co-founder of the famous nursery Ecuagenera Cia. Ltda. Luer writes: “This little species without collection data was obtained in 1992 by Colomborquideas Ltd. above Medellin, Colombia,…
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Hermetospheres 