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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PLANTS

Isoetes kirkii (Polusnik)

Family Isoetaceae (Semi-colonial section of the placenta).
Distribution of Sicily, Sardinia.
The rhizome is tuberiform in length up to 2 cm. In one rosette up to 220 leaves, leaves 10 - 30 cm long from arched to upright, subulate, slightly bent, gradually thinning towards the apex, at the base of 1 - 3 mm wide, with a distinct fringe edge, Otherwise grassy-green.
Sporangia with macro- and microspores are separated from each other by air bubbles. They are narrowly elongated, 1 - 4 mm wide, 1.5 - 10 mm long, completely covered with film. Macrose spheroidal, with a size of 450 - 500 microns; Microspores are ellipsoidal, measuring 31 X 21 microns.
The culture of this unusual plant does not create great difficulties. It develops in both soft and hard water, and pH can be in both acid and alkaline ranges. Medium intensive lighting is recommended. As a primer, a mixture of sand and small pebbles is suitable, in which a little clay can be added. The optimum temperature is 22-26 degrees C. In grown plants, for a few months on the swollen bases of leaves, vessels with macro- and microspores are formed. Spores mature when the leaf can be easily separated from the plant. Macroscopes can still be detected with the naked eye as small balls, while macrospores can be seen as a brown powder.