Scientist Pressing Ferns at Fujian Outcrop

Warm honeyed light spills across a rocky geology outcrop in Fujian, illuminating a scientist working methodically at a portable table. The researcher presses dried fern specimen sheets flat against a wooden board, fingers smoothing the edges. Salt wind ruffles the papers and pushes loose leaves across the exposed metal equipment nearby. Early winter bareness rests on the surrounding scrub, while converging lines of the rocky ledge draw toward a distant vanishing point. One shadow stretches long across the table surface, marking the low angle of the setting sun.