henryfletcher's Journal

I have found the rough speckled shield lichen (Punctelia rudecta) to be an interesting species. It is a very pollution-tolerant lichen, so it has been recommended as a bioindicator for air pollution in the forested uplands of the south-eastern United States. Also, this species has been shown to serve as a host and breeding ground for mites. To date, it is unclear what service the mites provide to the lichen.

In order to find roses on the phylogenetic tree, I had to follow this order:

1)Eukaryotes
2)Plants
3)Green plants
4)Land plants
5)Vascular plants
6)Flowering plants
7)Eudicots
8)Fabids/Malvids 9)Roses.

The first six steps are self-explanatory because roses are flowering land plants. After that, however, it gets a little more tricky. Roses are eudicots because they grow two seed leaves after they germinate. Roses are then divided into two groups called malvids and fabids.

The adaption that all species in our observations have in common is that they have roots that go into the ground. This allows them to get minerals and gain extra stability.

The rose's thorns are a unique adaption in our observations. They protect roses from herbivores trying to eat them