Leaf skeleton of common ivy, Hedera helix

Numéro d’image : 13504241
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 : -

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