Leaf skeleton of common ivy, Hedera helix

Numéro d’image : 13504227
Leaf skeleton of common ivy, Hedera helix
Scanning electron micrograph of a leaf skeleton of common ivy, Hedera helix. The picture shows part of a shed leaf after several months of decomposition beneath a hedge. The branching vertical structure is part of the midrib of the leaf, about 0.4mm wide. A network of thinner veins remains, but the finest veins, and all the green tissues, have decomposed. Decomposition begins as small invertebrates - woodlice, mites and springtails - eat the soft tissues, or reduce them to fragments that can be degraded by bacteria and fungi. The walls of the leaf veins here - vascular cells (xylem and phloem) that carried water and sugar to and from the leaf - contain lignin. Lignin is a complex polymer that resists chemical breakdown, but even lignin cannot withstand those fungi evolved to degrade it. In only a few more months, the leaf will have been completely recycled back to soil under the hedge.
Licence : Droits gérés
Crédit: Science Photo Library / Burgess, Dr. Jeremy
Taille de l’image : 3468 px × 5212 px
Model Release : Non requis
Restrictions : -

Prix pour cette image À partir de 45 €

Produit vendu
(Calendrier, Carte postale, Carte de vœux, Impression sur textile, Packaging etc)
À partir de 45 €
Usage commercial
(Affichage, Annonce presse, Annonce TV, Carte, Digital - hors rés. sociaux, Digital - rés. sociaux etc)
À partir de 45 €
Éditorial
(Digital, Journal, Livre, Livre pratique, Magazine, Télévision etc)
À partir de 60 €
Usage non-commercial
(Digital - hors rés. sociaux, Digital - rés. sociaux etc)
À partir de 120 €

Mots clés

;