Figure 1: Population of sunflower plants (Helianthus annuus, Linnaeus 1753) in an open field in Germany. The leaves, stems and roots of these and other embryophytes are colonized by prokaryotic microbes, such as methylobacteria. Cells of the species Methylobacterium funariae, as described by Schauer and Kutschera, 2011 are shown in the Inset (scanning electron micrograph of bacteria attached to a solid surface).