Spartan Posted November 5, 2014 Author Report Posted November 5, 2014 Microscopes are magical portals to worlds too small to be seen with the naked eye -- to Rob Kessler, chairman of Arts, Design and Science at the University of Arts London, those "worlds" are plant cross-sections. Kessler has been observing plant cells and the patterns they make under the microscope for the past 10 years, as well as capturing their beauty on camera using a variety of microscropic techniques. His pictures (including the Primrose x-section above) look so vivid and jewel-like, because he sometimes uses as many as 500 shots to create a single composition. At the moment, those compositions are displayed as humongous wall art at the ongoing Mi Pattern exhibit at the Lethaby Gallery in London's Central Saint Martins. You can also bring your own samples to the event, since there are a bunch of microscopes you can use there, even a Phenom scanning electron microscope, which magnifies objects up to 10,000 times. But if you're not in London and can't go, we're afraid you'll have to make do with browsing the colorful cross-sections online.
Spartan Posted November 5, 2014 Author Report Posted November 5, 2014 Naples garlic The structure of garlic could be mistaken for exquisite coloured glass. When a tiny stem section is stained with toluidine blue, a dye that builds up in the acidic parts of tissue, nucleic acids show up in blue. The dark spot is a bundle of vascular tissue that carries nutrients and fluids up the stem. The full image is a composite of 55 shots.
Spartan Posted November 5, 2014 Author Report Posted November 5, 2014 Narrow-leaved helleborine Found in scattered locations across the UK, populations of this threatened woodland orchid have declined massively over the past 30 years. The stained stem is peppered with black blobs: as with the garlic image, they are clusters of vascular tissue.
Spartan Posted November 5, 2014 Author Report Posted November 5, 2014 Primrose The stem of this flowering plant conceals a star-like shape in its centre, its outline formed by a black ring of seven tightly-packed vascular cells. This common primrose is distinguished from other species by its pale yellow flowers that grow on long, hairy stalks.
Spartan Posted November 5, 2014 Author Report Posted November 5, 2014 Goosegrass (cleavers) This stained cross section of a goosegrass stem looks like an intricate glass ornament. The tiny downward-pointing hairs visible on the tips make the plant feel sticky if you brush against it, earning it the nickname "sticky willy".
Spartan Posted November 5, 2014 Author Report Posted November 5, 2014 Sphagnum moss An ultra close-up view of this moss leaf shows what look like a bunch of worms clumped together. The "tiles" in the pattern are hyaline cells: dead cells capable of holding large amounts of water. “They are important in maintaining peatlands,” says Kesseler.
Spartan Posted November 5, 2014 Author Report Posted November 5, 2014 Poppy Looking at the stem slice of a common poppy under polarised light produces a psychedelic effect. The stain reveals blob-like vascular cells arranged close to the stem walls. The black-and-white pattern in the centre is the pith, which absorbed less of the dye.
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