Botany Photo of the Day

Yes, this is a repeat entry; a flower from the same group of plants was the Photo of the Day on May 28, 2005. Still, I think it's worthwhile to compare the two photographs, as the flowers are in different stages of maturity.

The May 28 photograph illustrates bluer petals, developing anthers (the orange oval-shaped structures) without any evidence of pollen, and a stigma (the fuzzy central surface) and style (the slender structure below the stigma) coloured an unexposed-to-sunlight green.

Contrast that flower with this one, perhaps a day or two further along in its development. The petals have faded in colour, although I suspect some of the difference in blueness is due to the ambient light conditions. As well, masses of orange-red pollen have erupted from the mature anthers, while the female stigma and style appear to have accumulated sunshine-transforming chlorophyll and are consequently greener in colour.

Within another day or two, the faded petals will fall off, along with the spent stamens (the anthers and their supporting filaments). The pistil, which includes the stigma, style and blimp-shaped ovary bearing the fertilized ovules, will change from hanging downward at the angle shown in the photographs to being borne upright.