pressed into service

My mom took a fall yesterday trying to water her potted plants. We spent the day at the hospital getting her wounds dressed, and scans to make sure she didn’t have a brain bleed (she did not). So, with an hour of remaining daylight, I reached for the plant press, and this nifty little specimen was the first one I came to. I like the over-under two-toned coloration. Many leaves, I have noticed, have very different uppers and lowers. And it has me wondering why that is? What unique roles do the two surfaces play. Sounds like a good question for ChatGPT. A quick search and I found that the two sides may vary for structural and/or functional reasons that include: light absorption, water regulations, protection and adaptation, and temperature regulation. Are you using AI yet?  I rarely do, but when I do I am reminded that it really does a nice job of synthesizing information. It’s as if I had done a google search, and then AI synthesized and summarized the top half dozen hits. If you haven’t tried it, give it a go. It’s free and easy. I use ChatGPT but my husband prefers Claude.

pressed (bleeding heart?) leaves