The source of the snail’s bright stripes hasn’t been rigorously studied. But it’s worth noting that one of the snail’s host trees, the bloodwoodtree, is used to make dye; depending on acidity, the hues that the wood produces are red, yellow, purple or blue.

During the dry season, these forest-dwelling snails stop growing. They create a moisture-tight seal on a tree and wait for the rain to return. These ridges are growth marks that show the breaks between seasons.

“This is an artifact of the macro-imaging process, which blends together thousands of images in three dimensions. Occasionally, the stitching is imperfect.”

“Spiral forms are everywhere in nature—from a sunflower’s seed pattern, to the arrangement of leaves around a plant’s stem. These snail shells are another beautiful example.”

Liguus snails get their name from the Latin word ligo, which means “to bind”; it refers to the colorful bands that wind around the snail’s shell.

“Look at the bottoms and tops of these leaves: they differ. Gravity usually keeps one side of a leaf always facing the sun. Because of this, the two sides have different roles to play, and different challenges to face.”

“The red pigment here, anthrocyanin, repels insects and may protect against excessive ultraviolet light. It’s on the newer growths, uppermost stems, and leaf margins—which are the most tender parts of the plant.”

All living things need to move nutrients and wastes in and out of their cells. Animals have blood and lymph vessels; plants have xylem and phloem. Living organisms come in many shapes and forms, but we have a lot in common.

Notice the pattern of large parallel veins? This feature, along with leaf placement and flower structure, is characteristics of this plant family. If you spot plants with a similar set of vein patterns, it may be related.

“This is a piece of bark from the plant’s own stem. As the branches age, they become woody and their protective “hairs” may flake off. By then, chomping insects aren’t a threat to the no-longer tender growth.”