panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Jul 29, 2020 8:52:03 GMT -5
Proof that Rocks can be essential for life!!. An interesting article on how life adapts to using a clearish quartz as a soothing greenhouse. Moss Uses Quartz as a ParasolIn the Mojave Desert, a translucent crystal offers bryophytes much-needed respite from the heat of the sun. To humans, a desert oasis may conjure an image of a blue pool encircled by a coronet of palm trees. But to certain mosses, an oasis takes the form of a pebble of milky quartz. The cloudy crystal dilutes the sun’s piercing ultraviolet rays and, in the dry desert heat, traps moisture beneath it, creating a microclimate perfect for a moss. You can read the whole article at Story link
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Post by greig on Jul 29, 2020 13:19:26 GMT -5
Very cool stuff. So much we don't know right under our feet.
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Post by parfive on Aug 2, 2020 0:24:32 GMT -5
All that quartz crystal mumbo jumbo works . . . if you’re a moss in the Mojave Desert. : )
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EricD
Cave Dweller
High in the Mountains
Member since November 2019
Posts: 1,142
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Post by EricD on Aug 2, 2020 0:28:34 GMT -5
I want to be a Moss in the Mojave Desert under a Quartz Parasol
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Post by Peruano on Aug 2, 2020 9:14:29 GMT -5
I doubt is always the same plant, but the occurrence of green plant-like growth is widespread throughout the SW and other parts of the arid world when you have quartz or other translucent materials on the ground. Condensation on the bottom and light passing through from the top produces a perfect environment for such growth. That's why that piece of quartz often has green and a bit of soil clinging to the bottom when you first pick it up.
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Post by mohs on Aug 2, 2020 12:44:02 GMT -5
move over mohss the big rock is moving in m hstly
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Post by knave on Aug 2, 2020 12:46:52 GMT -5
move over mohss the big rock is moving in m hstly Pull up a chair ED! Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes
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Post by mohs on Aug 2, 2020 12:59:42 GMT -5
ah heck Evan I still have a little shine left in my mohss moslty
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Post by knave on Aug 2, 2020 13:05:32 GMT -5
ah heck Evan I still have a little shine left in my mohss moslty glad to hear it.
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Post by drocknut on Aug 2, 2020 13:06:32 GMT -5
Interesting
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,177
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Post by RWA3006 on Aug 2, 2020 15:07:40 GMT -5
I've noticed a thin green film of plant life under the moss agate I've picked up in the desert of southwest Wyoming. It's more prominent under the translucent agate than other rocks in the area. Even when bone dry there's a noticeable green plant presence when you'd think there shouldn't be.
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