Keith Smith 🪴🔭💻

Inside a thylakoid membrane

The molecular architecture of the thylakoid membrane in a vascular plant has been determined with single-molecule precision.
buff.ly/U9TzrOh

Speaking of ferns. This is a fantastic book, just published, for fern enthusiasts of all kinds.

bsky.app/profile/fern...

@nebotanical.bsky.social

UMass Amherst Biology is recruiting a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the area of Plant Physiology. Deadline Nov 1. Please spread the word and apply!

careers.massachusetts.edu/mob/en-us/jo...

Is this a whisk fern?

The petiole appears to be dead. Does the fungi appear when the fern has its annual dieback?

The two, narrow and broad, are one of the harder pairs of ferns to sort out.

Broad beech fern: The rachis (midrib) between the lowest pinnae is winged (leaf tissue runs along it).

Narrow beech fern: Rachis between the lowest pinnae is naked (no leafy wings).

I think it's narrow beech not broad. No leafy wings

...and the restaurant decorated with large dragonfly wings.

Wall rue - Asplenium ruta-muraria

This only happens to you once

Looks like a fine location with four species of ferns or more.

Fern enthusiasts can be distracted by such places.

Lemon-scented fern is not a species found on this side of the pond (US).

Black and white cat in box in cabinet staring at viewer

Cat in a box

#cat

Black ball, size of golfball, with many irregular features all over the surface.

Black ball, size of golf ball, with many irregular features all over the surface.

Found in swamp environment in CT, USA

Possibly a mushroom?

#flora #mushroom

At Rattlesnake Mountain there were not a lot of ferns. I have observed differences between coast and 10, 50 miles, and farther inland

Search for #fernfriday

#fern and #ferns are noisy with a certain anime showing up a lot.

he Department of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis is seeking applications for a fulltime, tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Mycology, with a focus on plant pathogenic, symbiotic, or mycotoxigenic fungi and fungal-like organisms (e.g., oomycetes). We are looking for a highly motivated and creative scientist with a strong background in mycology and/or the biology of fungi and fungal-like organisms that interact with plants. The successful candidate will be expected to develop a world-class, externally funded research program that integrates both fundamental and applied aspects of fungal biology within the context of plant pathology. We welcome applicants pursuing a wide range of research topics related to plant-associated fungi, including but not limited to mechanisms of fungal pathogenesis or symbiosis with plants, population genomics and evolution of fungal plant pathogens, plant-associated fungal microbiomes and plant-microbe interactions, and/or one health approaches to fungal diseases and antifungal resistance. Applicants working in other relevant research areas involving pathogenic, symbiotic, or mycotoxigenic fungi or fungal-like organisms that affect plant health are also encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will have significant opportunities for collaboration with faculty in plant pathology, microbiology, genomics, and agricultural sciences, and to contribute to addressing issues of importance to California’s agricultural and natural ecosystems. The appointee primary teaching responsibilities will be teaching Introductory Mycology, an upperdivision lab class, and SAS 30, Mushroom, Molds & Society, a general education class for non-majors. Additional graduate and undergraduate teaching responsibilities may be assigned based on departmental needs and the candidate’s expertise. The department offers modern instructional facilities, including a newly renovated teaching laboratory.

Please repost -- The Univ. California Davis dept of Plant Pathology is hiring a Fungal biologist / Mycologist

Applications due Dec 1

Application portal: recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07339

Screenshot shows part of the job posting (with alt-text of the same text)

🔬🌱 We are planning ahead for Botany 2026! We’re looking for folks interested in helping organize a hands-on workshop on building custom LI-COR chambers and measuring gas exchange on non-conventional plant material.

👉 Reach out to jsavage@d.umn.edu if interested!

#Botany2026 #bsaecophys

Bryophytes hold a larger gene family space than vascular plants - Nature Genetics A super-pangenome analysis incorporating 123 newly sequenced bryophyte genomes reveals that bryophytes exhibit a larger number of unique and lineage-specific gene families than vascular plants.

Very important paper and resource. Bryophyte genomes expanded by one order of magnitude. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Fern leaf pockets hide secrets of plant-microbe symbiosis
->The Global Plant Council | More from BigEarthData.ai

“A remarkable discovery”: Rare fern found in Welsh valley 150 years after being wiped out by Victorians | Countryfile.com The young holly fern was rediscovered by a naturalist on the rugged slopes of Cwm Idwal in Eryri National Park.

Some positive plant news from the BSBI - Holly Fern rediscovered in Cwm Idwal after 150 years! share.google/ZlNYNfC4f6h2...

And with a quote from our very own @bsbicymru.bsky.social

Plant Atlas maps for Holly Fern here: share.google/9t1TB44l1G1i...

Sensitive fern gets its name from the fact that it withers with the first cold snap.

Possibly Male Fern, Dryopteris filix-mas

Dyro- wood
Pteris- fern
Filix- fern
Mas- male

A wood fern that's called male fern. Scientific Latin isn't hard, just different.

@dalessio-dave.bsky.social Dave, might you have any suggestions and recommendations for the pitch?

The other known fern is Weft Fern.

bsky.app/profile/fern...

Bracken - Wikipedia

Bracken. Pteridium aquilium.

The picture is one of three fronds from a central stalk.

It can be very weedy. Poisonous to people and cattle.

Has a preference to disturbed soils.

One of the most ancient as well as cosmopolitan ferns, found everywhere.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracken

Hayscented fern can overwhelm acres of forest understory.

The package should come with a warning label. 😀

A field of Hay-scented ferns, Sitobolium punctilobulum. The entire field is mostly a clone of one or a few plants. The rhizomes, just under the surface, travel a few inches to a foot, a full fern specimen sprouts from the rhizome, rinse, repeat.

This is not at all unusual.

Walking Fern Walking fern, Asplenium rhizophyllum, is found in many places in the Eastern and Central United States, and around the Great Lakes, but it is not that common. iNaturalist map of A. rhizophyllum A. …

fernleaf07.wordpress.com/ferns/walkin...

Phylogeny and biogeography of the fern genus Hymenasplenium (Aspleniaceae), with special reference to island speciation This study presents significant advancements in understanding the fern genus Hymenasplenium by integrating plastid and nuclear phylogenies with expanded taxon sampling, revealing four major clades an...

New paper in Journal of Systematics and Evolution using @gbif.org mediated data:

Phylogeny and biogeography of the fern genus Hymenasplenium (Aspleniaceae), with special reference to island speciation

#CiteTheDOI: ❌

https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.13194