I would like to create a ‘watch list’ of interesting animals and plants for 2026. Last year, for example, I found the heather crab spider (thomisus onustus) and was totally surprised that there are spiders in Germany that can change colour. So I would like to use collective intelligence to gather information about colourful, unusual, strange and ugly animals and plants that are truly amazing. I look forward to your suggestions! I don’t care whether they are small or large, or whether it’s their behaviour or appearance. As I live in Germany, I would be very happy to receive suggestions from Germany and neighbouring countries. But I haven’t planned my holiday yet :P And I’m open to the whole European continent. Thank you very much in advance! Maybe even more people will enjoy such a collection ;)
If youre interested in strange plant evolution facts and living time capsules, look out for hornworts!
for example: Phaeoceros carolinianus
some strange facts:
Phaeoceros carolinianus belongs to the hornworts (Anthocerotophyta), a small but globally distributed group of non-vascular plants. Unlike mosses or liverworts, hornworts have a unique sporophyte structure that grows continuously from a basal meristem—a bit like how shoots grow in vascular plants. This horn-shaped structure elongates slowly, releasing spores over time rather than in one big burst. It’s an elegant solution to dispersal and may represent a crucial step in the evolution of more complex plant growth patterns (Renzaglia et al., 2007).
The green part we usually see—the gametophyte—is a flat, lobed thallus. Inside each cell lies a single large chloroplast, often with a pyrenoid, a structure rare among land plants but common in algae. This setup helps concentrate CO₂ for photosynthesis, suggesting that P. carolinianus has preserved some deep evolutionary traits from its aquatic ancestors (Villarreal & Renzaglia, 2015).
One of the most fascinating features of Phaeoceros carolinianus is its close relationship with cyanobacteria, especially those of the genus Nostoc. The hornwort forms mucilage-filled cavities that open to the outside via small pores. These cavities act as a home for symbiotic Nostoc, which enters through the pores and begins fixing atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form for the plant (Adams & Duggan, 2008).
This symbiosis is more than just a happy accident. P. carolinianus appears to actively recruit its microbial partner using chemical signals. Once inside, the cyanobacteria differentiate into heterocysts, specialized cells for nitrogen fixation. This allows P. carolinianus to grow in nutrient-poor soils where other plants might struggle (Adams & Duggan, 2008).
In turn, the cyanobacteria benefit from a stable environment and carbohydrates from the plant’s photosynthesis (Adams & Duggan, 2008).
References
Adams, D. G., & Duggan, P. S. (2008). Cyanobacteria–bryophyte symbioses. Journal of Experimental Botany, 59(5), 1047–1058. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erm366
Kreitlow, R. L., Cuneo, P., Zhang, Y., & Clark, S. E. (2021). Examination of the M20D Auxin Conjugate Peptidase Family from Hornwort and Implications on the Evolution of the Tracheophytes. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.09.455726
Villarreal, J. C., & Renzaglia, K. S. (2015). The hornworts: Important advances in early land plant evolution. The Bryologist, 118(4), 335–351. https://doi.org/10.1639/0007-2745-118.4.335