1) Horsetail spores Like ferns, horsetails (Equisetum) do not produce seeds. They produce spores instead. The spores are produced in a beautiful structure called the strobilus (shown at the start of the video). These small spores (around 0.05 mm) have evolved an amazing adaptation that increases their dispersal and therefore makes it easier for new horsetail plants to expand further away. . The horsetail spores have four appendages (elaters) that quickly deploy or retract depending on the level of environmental humidity (the movement of the spores in the video is played in real time). . Understanding the biomechanics of the walking and jumping of these spores could one day lead to the engineering of self-propelled objects. . For more information about the movement of Equisetum spores: Philippe Marmottant, Alexandre Ponomarenko, Diane Bienaimé. The walk and jump of Equisetum spores. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Royal Society, The, 2013, 280 (1770), pp.20131465. ffhal-00911670 2) Moss spores It is between April-June that when you see moss, you will also see some hair-like structures in the moss. These hair-like structures are the moss sporophytes. . The moss sporophyte is the only diploid part of the moss (the green part of the moss is haploid and is referred to as the gametophyte of the moss). . At the top of the moss sporophyte there is a capsule. In this capsule, the moss will produce spores by meiosis. . Remarkably, some of the spores that the moss will produce will be male spores and some spores that the moss will produce will be female spores. The moss spores will therefore produce either male moss plants or female moss plants (male or female gametophytes). 3) Giant puffball spores It’s incredible to realize the huge number of spores that a giant puffball (Calvatia gigantea) can produce. A single mature puffball, similar in size to the ones shown in this video, can release around 5 trillion spores (yes, trillion with a “T”). Keep in mind that each of these spores is potentially capable of developing into a new puffball under the right conditions. . Scientists calculated this number by carefully slicing the inner tissue of the puffball and estimating the number of spores in different zones of the mushroom. Interestingly, the middle layer of the puffball contained the highest spore density (about 22 billion spores per gram). . When a giant puffball matures and dries out, its outer layer splits open. Wind, rain, or contact with animals then act as dispersal forces, releasing millions of spores at a time into the air. Spores that can travel far before settling, allowing this species of fungus to colonize new areas where it can thrive. . For details on how the spore calculations were made: De-Wei Li. 2011 – Five trillion basidiospores in a fruiting body of Calvatia gigantea. Mycosphere 2(4), 457–462. . For this video I used a Leica ZOOM 200 stereoscope, an Olympus CX31 microscope and an Olympus BX41 microscope at up to 1000x magnification #microscopy #spores #horsetail #moss #puffball - @dr.bioforever