 EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes
and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and
archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


 Water Drops on Leaves

   December 17, 2021

    Menashe_Picture1_guttation

    Menashe_Picture2_dew

   Photographer:  Menashe Davidson

   Summary Authors:  Menashe Davidson;  Jim Foster

   "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything
   better." (Albert Einstein)

   On a wonderful spring day this past May in Rishon LeZion Israel, I sat
   in my home garden surrounded by beautiful blooms all around me.
   Suddenly I saw shiny strips on the top of a flowering  hollyhock
   that were illuminated by the Sun as it lowered in the western sky. This
   glow was due to sunlight scattered by drops of water on the tips of the
   bristly surface of the colored flowers and buds. Since the soil in the
   plant container was quite humid, the plant was simply removing excess
   moisture from its pores as a result of root pressure. This is the
   process of  guttation. Because the temperature during the late
   afternoon dropped, the humidity was higher, and the hollyhock plant had
   no recourse but to ooze out excess moisture (top photo, taken on May 3,
   2021). The camera is facing the Sun. Note that the tiny drops are
   easiest to detect on the tips of the hairs at lower left.

   A few days later and again enjoying my garden but this time during the
   early morning, my attention was attracted to tiny glowing spots over
   the wrinkle petals of an  amaryllis plant. The brightness of these
   spots is a function of the sun angle in relation to the surface of the
   leaves (bottom photo, taken on May 8, 2021). The camera was facing away
   from the Sun. In this case, the drops are  dew drops, which forms
   all over a leaf’s surface, and not just at the tips, from condensation
   of atmospheric moisture. The more I understand nature, the more I feel
   at home in my heart.
     * Rishon LeZion Israel Coordinates: 31.9730, 34.7925

Related EPODs

    Water Drops on Leaves  A Many-Colored Fall in Blacksmith Fork
   Canyon  Archive - Bountiful Autumn  Wind Doesn't Break a Tree
   that Bends  The Diminutive and Prolific Common Duckweed  Careful
   Where You Step
    More...

Plant Links

     *  Discover Life
     *  Tree Encyclopedia
     *  What are Phytoplankton?
     *  Encyclopedia of Life - What is a Plant?
     *  USDA Plants Database
     *  University of Texas Native Plant Database
     *  Plants in Motion
     *  What Tree is It?

-
   Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the  Universities
   Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu
 
