Limestone outcrops emerging from forests of the #PaloVerde research station, Costa Rica, offer unique habitats for novel adaptations relative to nearby forest species. This promotes adaptations for water stress as seen in cacti, but other species like #ferns and #orchids have also found niches here.

#BigSur is a unique biogeographic region in California's Mediterranean coast. It hosts the southern most populations of coast #RedWoods in shady valleys. They supplement water needs during dry summers with a unique adaptation allowing them to absorb coastal fog moisture directly from their leaves!

Salvinia molesta is an aquatic fern from Brazil that has found its way to the US where it takes over waterways and costs millions of tax dollars every year. Our upcoming research highlights the evolutionary origins of this aquatic fern as a hybrid with complex origins. #salvinia #invasivespecies

We reveal previously uncharacterized hybrids and a new lineage in the highly variable Hawaiian fern, Polypodium pellucidum w/ subspecies occupying distinct ecologies. Pictured is var vulcanicum growing as a pioneer on a lava field on the big island pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39081002/
#Hawaii #Botany

The Hawaiian endemic lobeliad, Trematolobelia kaale, growing on the boggy peak of Mt. Ka'ala, Oahu. Being the highest peak of O'ahu it receives significant precipitation, creating a unique insular habitat hosting several rare endemic species adapted to boggy conditions. #nativeplants #hawaii #botany

Closeup of the miniature orchid Dichaea pendula's flowers from Monte Verde, Costa Rica.

Fiddle heads are the early development stage of ferns fronds and are a unique character of most ferns that show a unique spiraling pattern as the frond grows. Pictured is Phlebodium aureum in Costa Rica.

I came across a hidden away seep in the Ozarks housing hundreds of hornworts, a group of 'primitive' nonvascular plants. The Ozarks are an ancient mountain range with a complex geography having highly eroded valleys where unique assemblages of plants from southern and northern ecoregions can persist

Sellaginela belongs to the lycophytes which have evolved unique morphological characteristics relative to other plants, such as unique sets of dorsal leaves found on the stem axis. Sellaginella uncinata shown here stands out in shady conditions with bright irridescent foliage.

The "filmy ferns" are a fascinating family of ferns (Hymenophyllaceae) largely found in tropical ecosystems and are unique due to their leaves which are 1-3 cells thick! This allows them to easily absorb moisture from the environment but also limits them humid ecosystems.