From the cover of the Vol. 84(4) Remembering summer roses – bright and beautiful winter flowers of Camellia sasanqua Thunb.; the plant, native to Japan, grows there in the mountains high, but also in the gardens, where it blossoms till February, often under the cover of a white snow; its evergreen shiny leaves are used for making tea. [Author: Beata Zagórska-Marek]

From the cover of the Vol. 84(3) The swallowtail butterfly (Papilio machaon L.) studying the mysteries of wild teasel inflorescence (Dipsacus fullonum L.). The first one is bijugate phyllotaxis emerging typically from the initial decussate one. The second is  bi-directional blooming, which starts from the equatorial area of the inflorescence. The regulatory mechanism of this peculiar behavior remains unknown. [Author: Beata Zagórska-Marek]

From the cover of the Vol. 84(2) Clematis ×jackmanii Moore – aberrant flower with the symptoms of meristic variation in the region of perianth. In addition, one half the tepal seen in a front (discolored) is a mosaic of the cell clones having different identities – of a tepal and of a leaf. [Author: Beata Zagórska-Marek]

From the cover of the Vol. 84(1) Galanthus nivalis 'Flore Pleno' resembles to some extent the floral mutant agamous of Arabidopsis thaliana. Its multiplied perianth contains, however, some remnants of generative structures. The male, pollen producing stripes of sporogenic tissue can be seen on the adaxial surface of some inner perianth parts. The trimery of the outer parts, typical for the snowdrop, is often replaced by the teramery or even pentamery, which makes 'Flore Pleno' an attractive example of meristic variation. [Authors: Beata Zagórska-Marek, Magdalena Turzańska]

From the cover of the Vol. 83(4) The sacoglossan sea slug Elysia timida – these slugs are the only animals known to perform photosynthesis using plastids they sequester from their algal food source, in this case the green alga Acetabularia. The stolen plastids (kleptoplasts) can remain photosynthetically active for months in the cytosol of the animals’ cells. [Authors: Jan de Vries and Steffen Köhler (CAi Düsseldorf)]

From the cover of the Vol. 83(3) Brachytecium reflexum (Starke) Br. Eur. – moss gametophyte à la Polonaise, world champion of playing with colors. [Author: Magdalena Turzańska]

From the cover of the Vol. 83(2) Pointillism by liverworts: equally bilobed, lateral leaves of Cephalozia bicuspidata gametophyte under fluorescent microscope. [Author: Magdalena Turzańska]

From the cover of the Vol. 83(1) Meaningful Colors. Golden and blue fluorescence of berberine stained stem leaves and paraphyllia of Thuidium tamariscinum(Hedw.) Br. Eur. differentiates unipapillose cells of the leaf blade from those building up the nerves. [Author: Magdalena Turzańska]

On the cover we present new ASBP logo, a symbol of our journal activity, publishing continuously the results of research. It pertains to indeterminate growth of the plant apical meristem producing lateral organ primordia in a regular sequence. The primordia layout is unique. It is rarely observed in nature transient state between two consecutive expressions of the main Fibonacci phyllotaxis.

From the cover of the Vol. 82(4) Lagging behind the glow of Tiffany Blue – specimen of leafy liverwort Nowellia curvifolia (Dics.) Mitt., collected by Wiesław Fałtynowicz in Wigry National Park, Poland, observed under UV in fluorescent microscope. Blue fluorescence of the youngest parts of growing gametophyte is probably due to a dense cytoplasmic content of the cells. These contrast nicely with the berberine stained, amber cell walls of the older leaves and rhizoids.

[Author: Magdalena Turzańska]

From the cover of the Vol. 82(3) "The Second Life Capsule" – young sporophyte of Sphagnum sp. protected by perichaetial leaves of capitulum's lateral branch.

[Author: Magdalena Turzańska]

From the cover of the Vol. 82(2) Glimpse through the Nature’s stained glass window – autofluorescence of the fertile layer of Mnium hornum Hedw. male gametophyte with erected antheridia and paraphyses embraced by the uppermost leaf.

[Author: Magdalena Turzańska]

From the cover of the Vol. 82(1) Masterpiece of Nature – lacy cellular structure of a tiny, leafy liverwort Lepidozia reptans (L.) Dum., viewed from the ventral side of its pinnately branched stem, visualized by autofluorescence of the cell walls.

[Author: Magdalena Turzańska]

From the cover of the Vol. 81(4) Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) fronds served boiled and sprinkled with oil, chilli and garlic. Houzhenzi, Shaanxi, China, 2011.

[Photograph: Łukasz Łuczaj]

From the cover of the Vol. 81(3) Autofluorescence of lignified cell walls reveals discontinuous cambium and secondary growth in Arabidopsis thaliana wildtype (WT) plant's inflorescence.

[Authors: Beata Zagórska-Marek and Magdalena Turzańska]

From the cover of the Vol. 81(2) Closed vascular bundle of Ctenanthe oppenheimiana (E. Morren) K. Schum., Marantaceae, in a free-hand transverse section of the petiole, stained with safranin and Alcian blue. Bright red are the thick-walled cells of sclerenchymatic bundle sheath.

[Author: Magdalena Turzańska]

From the cover of the Vol. 81(1) A remarkable diversity of plant cell phenotypes in Arabidopsis thaliana stem, in a region of vascular bundle, exposed beautifully by safranin and Alcian blue staining of a fresh cut, handmade section.

[Author: Magdalena Turzańska]

From the cover of the Vol. 80(4) Various leaf phenotypes in a spontaneous albino chimera of Acer pseudoplatanus as a result of stochastic segregation of mutated cells.

[Photograph: Maciej Podolski]

From the cover of the Vol. 80(3) Living fractal – a recursive self-similarity manifested beautifully in unfurling of the rachis but also of the pinnae in a bipinnate frond of Matteuccia struthiopteris (L.) Todaro.