sharing our knowledge.
Photographic gallery.  Thousands of particles under the microscope.
Creek Fire, California, 2017 Under the Microscope

Plant Fragment with Phytoliths

This is from the Creek/Sylmar fire in Los Angeles, California in 2017. This is from an environmental tapelift collected in a home near the Creek fire. It shows a plant fragment that contains calcium oxalate phytoliths that are nearly invisable with this illumination. It shows a group of pyrolyzed calcium oxalate phytoliths that appear bright with reflected darkfield illumination.

Reflected Darkfield Illumination

Definition/Function:

Significance in the Environment:

Characteristic Features:

Associated Particles:

References: