Zierdinge - Decorative encyclopedic board - Ernst Haeckel, Kunstformen der Natur

Reproduction engraving by: Zierdinge

Original title Desmidiea - Zierdinge

Poster of Staurastrum - Primitive algae of the main class of Algae (Class Desmidaceae or unicellular algae)

Illustration from the book Kunstformen der Natur, which is a collection of artistic lithographs of natural sciences published by the German biologist Ernst Haeckel between 1899 and 1904.

This naturalistic illustration is part of an overall style inspired by Ernst Haeckel, which greatly influenced the emerging Art Nouveau movement at the beginning of the ^20th century. This work, illustrating the impressive beauty and great diversity of the biological world, was complemented by a certain amount of scientific information, some excerpts of which are reproduced below.

This information is over 120 years old and some of it may be outdated!

Scientific classification:

 Phylum of Protophytes (Protophyta)
Main class of Algae (Paulosporata)
Class Desmidaceae (Desmidiacea)

Scientific notice (extract) accompanying the poster print of Desmidiea - Zierdinge :

The Desmidiaceae or Cosmarium (Desmidiacea) form a class rich in forms within the phylum of unicellular protophytes, and more precisely within the main class that lacks ciliated movement (Algae). All Cosmarium inhabit fresh water (mainly peat marshes); they are distinguished by the symmetrical and elegant shape of their cell membrane or cellulose shell, which is often armed with spines. The living plasma body (Cytosoma), which inhabits this shell, surrounds a delicately shaped green pigment body (Chromatella); most often it consists of two symmetrical chlorophyll plates with radial lobes (Fig. 12 and 13), more rarely of several leaves (Fig. 10), sometimes of a spiral band (Fig. 9). Within the chromatella there are usually several shiny protein crystals (Pyrenoids). At the center of each cell is a simple cell nucleus. The reproduction of Cosmarium is very curious and occurs in two ways: firstly by simple cell division and secondly by pairing. In simple cell division (Figs. 6, 7), the two halves of the symmetrical cell separate from each other, and each half forms a new cell half at the plane of separation by complementary growth; the new half grows until it reaches the size and shape of the old one. On the other hand, in pairing (conjugation or copulation), two cells overlap (Figs. 2, 3 and 4); the two valves or shell halves of each cell detach from each other, and the two cell bodies (cytosomes) thus released fuse. The new cell (usually spherical) thus formed - zygote or zygospore - surrounds itself with a membrane, which is usually armed with radial spines (Fig. 5). Later, the cell leaves this envelope.

Species present on the Zierdinge naturalist board - Staurastrum :

• Staurastrum furcatum
• Staurastrum aculeatum
• Staurastrum paradoxum
• Staurastrum spinosum
• Micrasterias denticulata
• Micrasterias trigemina
• Micrasterias melitensis
• Spirotaenia condensata
• Closterium costatum
• Euastrum pecten
• Euastrum agalma
• Euastrum apiculatum