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Reproduction of the plant Kukushkin flax
Kukushkin flax, or polytrichum, is a mosses plant. It is found in wet meadows, swamps, in the forests of central and northern Russia. If you look closely, its stems, covered with dense green leaves, resemble tiny sprouts of flax. It is used as a mezhventsovy heater in wooden houses.
Description of the plant cuckoo flax
Polytrichum usually grows up to 10-15 cm in height. But if the conditions suit him, then he can stretch up to 40 cm. This requires moist soils of spruce forests and swampy plains. There is room for moss here, and it stretches upward, because, like other plants, it loves the sun. It aggressively captures more humid places, covering the ground with a pillow, where it will be difficult for another species to germinate. This plant is especially fond of forest felling and fires. Densely spreading in the forest, it swamps areas and interferes with reforestation.
Kukushkin flax grows in wet, wetlands
People call this flax “iron ore” for its strength and “red moss” for the color of the stems. It has been performing its function of insulating houses flawlessly for more than a dozen years.
By its structure, it is a leaf-stalk with primitive root buds – rhizoids, through which the plant absorbs water and mineral salts. It can also suck up water and its other parts. The lower leaves of the plant are like scales. The rest of the leaves are narrow, with denticles at the ends. Photosynthesis takes place in them – the conversion of light energy into chemical vital energy.
Life cycle and reproduction of the cuckoo flax
This type of plant is dioecious. This means that female and male germ cells develop on different plants. In male plants, the upper leaves are brownish. Here male gametes are formed – spermatozoa. In female plants, all leaves are the same. At the same time, at the top of the plant are female gametes – eggs.
Fertilization requires water. Only during rains or abundant growths sperm move to the female gametes, and the fusion of the female and male principles occurs. A zygote is formed – a cell with a double set of chromosomes, capable of launching a new generation.
Inhabiting new areas with disturbed soil composition – fires, for example, mosses accumulate moisture. After dying off, they give rise to the formation of new soil.
A new plant sporophyte with a sporangium appears from the zygote – a box with a lid in which spores mature. When they ripen, the lid opens and the spores spill out. Once in moist soil, the spore germinates and buds. New leafy plants emerge from them.
Despite the emergence of modern materials for insulation, this type of moss has not lost its relevance and perfectly fulfills the function of keeping warm and insulating. Mosses are of great importance in the formation of peat and new soils.