Petal Gallery

Lavender pollen grain, SEM

Lavender pollen grain. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a pollen grain (yellow) amongst the petal (papilla) cells (purple) of a French lavender (Lavandula dentata) flower. The pollen shows the round, sculpted protein coat characteristic of lavender. Pollen is produced by the male sex organs in lavender flowers and dispersed by insects to the female sex organs of other lavender flowers, where the eggs (ova) are fertilised. Magnification: x2476 when printed 10 centimetres wide

© POWER AND SYRED/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Vanda miss joaquim orchid, national flower of Singapore

This orchid (Vanda Miss Joaquim), also known as the Singapore orchid and the Princess Aloha orchid is a hybrid between Vanda teres and Vanda hookeriana. Described in 1893, this was the first orchid hybrid to be described from Singapore.
The orchid was named after Agnes Joaquim in whose garden the hybrid originated and who bred the world's first cultivated orchid hybrid.
It was selected to be the National Flower of Singapore in 1981

© 2016 Frans Sellies

Victorian Botanical Illustration of Bittersweet and Blue Succory

Extremely Rare, Beautifully Illustrated Antique Victorian Engraved Botanical Illustration of the Hand Colored Bittersweet and Wild or Blue Succory from The American Flora, History of Plants and Wild Flowers: Their Scientific and General Descriptions, Natural History, Chemical and Medical Properties, Mode of Culture and Propagation. A Book of Reference for Botanists, Physicians, Florists, Gardeners and Students. Published in 1853. Copyright has expired on this artwork. Digitally restored

© bauhaus1000