MikeLikesPlants
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mikelikesplants.bsky.social
MikeLikesPlants
@mikelikesplants.bsky.social
590 followers 540 following 96 posts
I'm a plant cell biologist who digs finding out how plant cells grow and find their amazing shapes.

Biology Professor / Educator / Researcher / Sustainable building nut
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mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Humulus lupulus! Expto patronum! Shazam!

I love the scientific name for #hops. I harvested these back in September, but the pointy green hop flowers remind me of the Grinch today. Their alpha acids flavor and preserve beer. But I'll make sleepy tea from these. #smallfarmlife 🌱
Flowers of the common hop, Humulus lupulus. Go ahead, say that one out loud for fun! Multiple green, cone-like flowers hanging down in the shade of their own leaves on a trellis. In the background, there is a bonus luffa fruit, long and green like a zucchini. Also in the background is an unopened, yellow luffa flower. We grown hops as a perennial on a trellis for shade. I happily harvest the little flowers for tea. Close-up of a female hop flower with the yellow resin dusting the bottoms of the light green leaves. These flowers contain many secondary metabolites that give beer its bitter flavor. Different cultivars contribute other flavors, some more citrus while others a bit more funky. Some cultivars smell a bit like Cannabis sativa, which is also in the same plant family. This is the H. lupulus cultivar 'Nugget'. It grows well in NC. A white bowl of light green hops flowers like a bowl of very soft, green pine cones... of the Grinch with his hair brushed up into points. I'm too lazy to brew beer, but I will use these to make a relaxing tea in the evening.
December 18, 2025 at 12:32 AM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
While most students are looking forward to winter break, my #undergraduateresearch student is eager to take one more week of data. Homer Drexel Short's enthusiasm and curiosity are inspiring. He's testing connections between cotton and a fungi friend found in the soil. #gossypiumhirsutum
Homer, an undergraduate research in my lab, working under sterile conditions in a laminar flow hood. When working with plant-microbe interactions, you want to control the kind of microbes you're working with. This means surface sterilizing seeds, pots, and deep sterilizing soil. Here, Homer is placing his pots in a growth chamber so he can control light, temperature, and humidity as his cotton plants growth and an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) colonizes the cotton roots. After the first replication, he's seeing subtle differences between this plants with AMF and plants without AMF as they are challenged by another treatment. The plants he expects to look nice are a lovely green.
December 11, 2025 at 2:05 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Finally finished #Pawpaw: In search of America's forgotten fruit. Love the connections of this North American native fruit to places and people - connections to #ethnobotany, #botany, and YUM. We got the first #Indianabanana on my farm this year! #Asiminatrioloba #smallfarmlife
Book cover of Pawpaw: In search of America's forgotten fruit by Andrew Moore. Pawpaws are known by various names in different states, but I like Indiana banana the best. They are a native fruit to North America. Fist sized fruit have green skin and creamy-to-yellow pulp. Sweet tasting, sticky, and tropical in flavor. A cluster of pawpaws on one of my trees. Three ripe pawpaws balanced precariously in one hand - together these fruit dwarf my big dude hands. Ripe pawpaw cut in half to reveal the creamy-yellow, sweet, custard-like pulp. They were ripe in August, and I can't wait for the harvest next year.
November 25, 2025 at 4:55 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Just shelled this year's flint #corn!

Now thinking back to the fire I set to burn the weeds (too lazy to hoe) and an amazing carpet of #morningglory and #amaranth seedlings that followed. A little hoeing ain't bad.

I'll grind, separate the #flintcorn into winter flour and grits
#smallfarmlife
A burned garden patch showing bits of blackened, charred wood over soil. Tiny green seedlings of an amaranth species and morning glory (Ipomea tricolor) rose from the ashes making a thin carpet of green a week after the fire. I didn't find any information in a lazy search connecting fire adaptation to either of these plants. They might have just taken advantage of the empty space. A close-up of the heart-shaped cotyledons on the morning glory seedlings. If they look familiar to you farmer types out there, it may be because they look like sweet potato seedlings - they are in the same genus! That is, if you start your sweet potatoes from seed instead of slips. Hey, you do you! I love the distinctive leaf shape. Corn seedlings 3 weeks after planting and hoeing the amaranth and morning glory seedlings between rows. Some of the rows still have the 'weed' within row. The corn was outpacing them, so I mostly left them.
November 16, 2025 at 11:16 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Student: Are we going to do more labs like this? Because this was a lot of fun!

#cellbiology teaching win! My heart swells when students love a classic #tetrahymena feeding lab.

#undergraduateresearch
October 25, 2025 at 4:16 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Hey... you wanna see some smut? #cornsmut! I love finding the immature fungus on my corn because it makes AMAZING #huitlacoche soup.

Too late for this one - the mature fungus burst black spores all over the top of this cob.
Corn smut is a fungus that grows on the ears of maize. It's largely been bred out of our commercial fields, but you can still find some here and there. It grows on several of the heirloom maize varieties I grow for flour... and I'm stoked when I find it! The fungus makes grey, smooth, and enlarged galls from the corn kernels. I love making huitlacoche soup from the immature fungus. Sadly, I'm too late. The galls have burst to release the black fungal spores. Better luck next year!
September 21, 2025 at 7:44 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Starting the week with peaceful thoughts as I look back on a refreshing dip in the creek this hot summer. #mossmonday #moss
Large mossy rock along a sparkling creek from the perspective of sitting in the water.
September 8, 2025 at 11:14 AM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Green #moss makes a vibrant bed for a #fungifriend - wood ear.

Wood ear is a wine-red jelly fungus. I *hear* that it's edible, but I've yet to nibble these lobes.

Observed these on a satisfying walk by the river after last night's storms.
Green moss on a log provides a backdrop for wood ear jelly fungus. The wine-colored fungus contrasts beautifully with the green moss.
May 17, 2025 at 11:51 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Some balls are held for charity
and some for fancy dress
but when they're red and sticky
they're the ones I want to test ...

... for how well they reduce insect damage to my apples 😋

Sticky traps to catch apple maggot flies #smallfarmlife
Red ball sticky trap in my apple tree. These aim to capture apple maggot flies to improve fruit quality in my tiny orchard.
May 9, 2025 at 5:32 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
I'm very proud of our #undergraduateresearch students. My advisees Ivy & Elijah presented their #cotton projects in #plantbiotechnology, #plantbiology at #NCAS2025. 🧪🔬🎉🎉

www.lr.edu/news/lr-stud...
LR students leave their mark at 2025 North Carolina Academy of Science meeting
Lenoir-Rhyne University students showcased their academic excellence and research expertise at the 2025 North Carolina Academy of Science (NCAS) annual meeting in late March.
www.lr.edu
April 21, 2025 at 1:56 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
A sunset as sweet as a yellow plum.

This yellow #plum tree is the first to blossom in our mixed orchard. Easily my favorite fruit tree we planted. #smallfarmlife
Grass sloping gently to a plum tree with white blossoms in the middle ground. Background a line of tall trees silhouetted by a yellow sunset. All topped by a faded blue sky.
March 15, 2025 at 12:10 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Hey, pal, where are you going?Looks like this #screwpine is wandering away from the landscaping.

It's #adventitiousroots drop down, and make more roots! The surface bumps and specialized cap fascinate me. #botany
Cultivated Pandanus species with many adventitious roots (prop or stilt roots). They provide further support and access to soil nutrients as the shrub grows. Some species have grooves on their prop roots to channel water to the ground. Closer view of prop roots branching down from a main prop root. Looks like the frame of a teepee. The area at the top where they diverge reminds me of the crown where maize prop roots grow from the stem. The tip of Pandanus species prop root emphasizing the specialized cap at the root tip. This root is about as thick as a big, middle-aged man's pointer finger.
March 5, 2025 at 6:05 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
holiday in The Bahamas reveals so many new-to-me plants and #algae

Enjoy some green bubble algae, #Dictyosphaeria cavernosa.
Macro photo of green bubble algae, Dictyosphaeria cavernosa, in my hand. My hand with green bubble algae fitting in the groove of the second knuckle of my middle finger. The pale green amorphous bubble is about the diameter of a US quarter.
March 3, 2025 at 9:06 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Mike-also-likes...

...to support friends, family, & other scientists whose federal science jobs have been taken. I'm with you.

Read about the importance, function, & history of the NSF.
February 22, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Reposted by MikeLikesPlants
biologycarly.bsky.social
I got mad and wrote an article.
The Rise (and Fall?) of the National Science Foundation
In the ’50s, America declared science an “endless frontier.” We may be reaching the end of it.
www.chronicle.com
February 21, 2025 at 11:44 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Nature brought us flowers today!

These crocuses are (nearly) the first blooms of the year.

Crocus overwinters underground in its #corm, a special stem adapted for that job. Flowers & leaves grow in early Spring.

Some #crocus species are the source of #saffron! #plantbiology
Four lavender crocus blossoms reaching from under a blanket of fallen leaves. These blossoms are nearly the first blooms on the farm. They beat the daffodils!
February 14, 2025 at 12:24 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Mike-also-likes... wildlife on the farm.

This Eastern screech owl is snug as a bug.

#SuperbOwlSunday
Eastern screech owl chilling in a knot on a river birch.
February 9, 2025 at 7:50 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Assignment completed.
biologycarly.bsky.social Carly Anne York, PhD @biologycarly.bsky.social · Feb 6
Fellow science teachers-

Please explain to your students the importance of government funding for research in this country. I didn't know how science was funded until grad school but our next generation of researchers need to know what is at risk. It will have HUGE implications for their future.
February 7, 2025 at 2:13 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Now here's a better picture of ovule culture - no weird circles in the background.

my #undergraduateresearch student uses this type of #planttissueculture to see an effect of a compound on fiber growth. #plantbiology is cool!
Looking down on cotton ovules growing in a six-well plate. Each well contains growth medium and a different concentration of a compound we're testing. We're seeing an effect on ovule growth and fiber growth. Higher amounts of the compound results in smaller ovules, fewer fibers, and apparently tissue death - big white ovules to tiny brown ones! After 14 days of growth, I think the healthy fibers and ovules look like tiny sheep swimming in a tiny pool.
February 7, 2025 at 11:54 AM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
How about a concentration-dependent effect on a Friday? Why, yes, I will have some of that.

My #undergraduateresearch student had success with their experiment this week!

#plantbiology #gossypium
Cotton ovules growing in a six-well plate. Each well contains growth medium and a different concentration of a compound we're testing. We're seeing an effect on ovule growth and fiber growth. Higher amounts of the compound results in smaller ovules, fewer fibers, and apparently tissue death! Trust me, it's exciting.
January 31, 2025 at 8:58 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Mmmmoss. Mossssss. moss.

All in all, it was just some moss on a wall

#mossmonday
Moss on the surface of a brick in a wall.
January 27, 2025 at 4:36 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
Planted my #yaupon holly over the weekend!

May look like teeny things now, but in time their leaves will pack a punch. #Ilex vomitoria is the only caffeine-producing plant in North America. Looking forward to green tea on the farm.

#plantbiology #smallfarmlife
Two bare-root seedlings of yaupon holly, Ilex vomitoria.
January 21, 2025 at 2:14 PM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
I think of this red #oak as The Party Tree, like from LotR.

I love its shape. When it warms up, I'll begin my #plantbiology labs under it. #thicktrunkthursday
gray brick path leading up to a red oak tree on a college campus
January 16, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by MikeLikesPlants
www.jrrjokien.com
me when any program's AI assistant asks me if I want help writing:
Gandalf the White saying, "Be silent. Keep your forked tongue behind your teeth"
January 11, 2025 at 12:28 AM
mikelikesplants.bsky.social
There's a trend that people over time start to look like their pets.

Lesser known is how people start to look like their plants.

These are seeds from rose-of-Sharon, #Hibiscus syriacus sporting seed trichomes like a rooster's comb.
#Malvaceae #plantbiology
Dude with a gray mohawk hair cut and short gray beard looking at the camera suspiciously. Brown seed with tan seed trichomes in a line along the 'top' of the seed and on the 'chin' of the seed like a mohawk hair cut and beard. The seeds are from Hibiscus syriacus, commonly called rose-of-Sharon in North America. An assortment of Hibiscus syriacus seeds.
January 8, 2025 at 6:19 PM