CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
One crunchy-looking detached organ of a suburban vascular plant looks to be in immediate danger of a commuter’s foot this morning.
The principal lateral appendage of the stem is believed to have fallen from a nearby introduced tracheophytes, and is now of no use to the ecosystem as it sits squarely in the middle of a nearby bitumen footpath.
Like most thin and dorsiventrally flattened organs that are borne above ground and specialized for photosynthesis, this particular leaf appears to be so dry and crisp that it would create the most satisfying noise if pressed between the footpath and the centre of a commuter’s shoe.
In most leaves, the primary photosynthetic tissue, the palisade mesophyll, is located on the upper side of the blade or lamina of the leaf, but in some species, including the mature foliage of Eucalyptus, palisade mesophyll is present on both sides and the leaves are said to be isobilateral. Meaning that when it dries out and detaches from the stem, it sits on the ground and gets crunchy as fuck.
While it is not known if most commuters experience this same insatiable desire to walk on top of firm crunchy leaves, it is believed that this particular spring foliage is not long for this world.
