Bare and naked

Not a great day here, I have to say. Cold, wet and windy, quite the opposite of the usual weather we get on the west coast in November. Did I say that? I'm not keen to go out as the hip is playing up too, so this could be thought of as an Emergency Blip if you're feeling uncharitable.

This could also be thought of as the least interesting Blip of the Year, pictorially speaking. Botanically speaking however, it could be quite the opposite.

This twiggy green object is a small plant of Psilotum nudum, the Whisk fern. Although it may not look like a fern, molecular evidence strongly confirms that it is. Native to most of the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, it's also interesting in that it has no roots and no leaves. No flowers either, of course. Not a lot going for it really then, except that its name means 'bare and naked' - not a lot of plants can say that!

This is just a small fragment, but it can grow up to 50cms. Definitely not the sort of houseplant you'll see in your local garden centre!