Hermetospheres

Experiences with plant life in closed glass containers

Category: Successes

The dwarf Microgramma

“Microgramma C.Presl is a fern genus of approximately 30 species in the family Polypodiaceae, all occurring in the Neotropics except one occurring in Africa. They are rhizome-creeping epiphytes, growing from trunk bases to the canopy, with a few species also able to grow in rocky or terrestrial habitats. They occur preferentially in wet tropical forests…
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Avoid blurring

Hermetospheres can have a high aesthetic value. If that is part of the motivation behind them, one is tempted to capture the beauty photographically. However, objects behind glass are difficult to photograph. Depending on the optical quality of the glass from which the container is made, the object will appear more or less blurred. My…
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The mystery of red leaf undersides

“The lower (abaxial) leaf surfaces of many plant species are brightly colored by red to purple pigments, most commonly anthocyanins. This trait has evolved multiple times independently in the plant kingdom, most prolifically in angiosperms but also in some seedless, vascular plants […], making it a textbook example of convergent evolution.” (Hughes and Lev-Yadun 2023,…
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A precious, lichen-like Begonia

In 2017, Lin and colleagues described Begonia lichenora as a species new to science. The species is “Distributed in Sarawak, Borneo; known only from Bau to Padawan areas that are at border with West Kalimantan Province of Indonesia. Plants usually climb up the steep, slightly shaded soil slopes in wet dipterocarp forest, elevation ca. 100…
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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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Tiny flies find tiny flowers

At 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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Plant, ant-plant and ant

In 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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Succeeding generations (1): Biophytum sensitivum

The 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

When 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

Very 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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