Normal Seed Cones vs Mummy Seed Cones (IMAGE)

University of California - Berkeley

Normal Seed Cones vs Mummy Seed Cones

Caption

Normal seed cones (left) of the dwarf pine Pinus mugo compared to the shriveled seed cones of trees irradiated with more than 10 times the amount of UV-B that hits Earth's surface today. Once removed from the UV-B growth chambers, the trees regained their fertility. The irradiated trees also produced malformed pollen, which has been observed in fossils from the end of the Permian Period 252 million years ago.

Credit

Jeffrey Benca, UC Berkeley

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