Primitive, but unique

Ferns are perhaps very old plants, but they are unique in their kind. They already occur in several hundred million year old fossils. After all, it was the first plant with roots and a real vascular system. In this way the ferns managed to extract water from the ground and use it for their further development. Because of the branches of the vessels it was also possible to get the water into the tops of the feathers or leaves. Ferns do not carry flowers. They therefore do not propagate with seeds, caused by fertilization of pistils with pollen through bees, beetles, birds, wind or otherwise. 

Honey - Try to find out its origin

Honey is one of the oldest food products. Cave paintings from the stone age give witness of how the product of wild bees has been used as the first sweetener, containing lots of positive ingredients for a general healing effect.

Nowadays honey is part of the food industry with its profit orientated mechanisms. Price is an issue, and the cold hurled product needs careful attention and efforts for maximum quality.

The origin of a product in general is essential for tracing the manufacturing steps. Latest since BIO became a quality issue in food industry, foodstuff testing laboratories are looking for hints to find out the nectar and honeydew sources which are the basis of honey. Pollen residuals within the honey give a clear indication about the region of origin. In Europe, honey from Central America is widespread, but not always clearly indicated. Eastern Europe and China are playing an important role as honey producers.

Once the pollen is detected and allocated to a defined plant species, it is easy to debunk imposters. Pollen from tropic plants found in a honey sample declared as a Central European product – a microscope will be the necessary tool to find out. Brightfield illumination is the required method, Phase contrast is not optimal as the pollen grains clearly have a significant 3D dimension, too thick for applying this contrast method. Simple POL contrast may help to find the isolated pollen grains within the honey sample.

Some examples from the Middle European flora:

Leontodon spec.

It hides in moss and lichen

When studying moss and lichen under the microscope, you will discover that in addition to the beautiful pictures it produces, a lot of animal life crawls around in it. If you walk through nature and see the many types of moss and lichen, you actually do not realize that. This is perhaps due to the fact that the animals are hardly visible to the naked eye.