Flowers At Work (3rd)

the most beautiful moment in the life of the plant is the opening of the flower Most flowers also have an alluring fragrance in addition flowers have a most practical purpose they produce seeds and seeds in turn produce new plants the root of a plant is the organ for absorbing water and minerals the stem connects the leaves with the root the leaves manufacture plant foods and the flower produces seeds which develop into new plants the flower starts as a bud and develops into a mature flower here is a typical complete specimen the green pointed Parts at the base are called sepos the Petals of many flowers are brilliantly colored the male parts of the flower are called stamens and the female part the pistol let us make believe that we can look through this flower in order to see the various parts more clearly the enlarged ends of the stamens are the anthers or pollen sacks these contain pollen grains which are usually carried by insects from one flower to another of the same kind when the pollen grains come into contact with the sticky stigma of the pistol they send tubes down the style to the ovary which contains the ovules the pollen tubes enter the ovules and fertilization takes place afterward the remainder of the flower Withers since its purpose has been fulfilled the ovules grow and develop into seeds that will produce new plants there are many types of flowers and these may vary in their methods of pollination this flower in unfolding displays a number of long stamens exposing the anthers in which the pollen grains develop the construction of many flowers gives the delicate pollen protection from the weather and places it in the path of visiting insects for example the Snowdrop one of the first flowers of spring succeeds well in protecting the pollen grains the white petals open like an umbrella over the pollen bearing anthers therefore much of the beauty of this flower is hidden from View bees visiting the flower in quest of nectar brush against the protected pollen and carry it away the spider word goes through a series of odd movements which protect its delicate parts the pistol and the stamens bearing the golden anthers Bend inwards then the petals close up and unfold the flower the upper sepal of the Monk's Hood forms a waterproof Hood over the pollen but does not keep out insects the Snapdragon keeps its petals tightly closed Only the strongest bees can force their way in to secure nectar and pollen you have now seen a few of the many ways in which the pollen is protected there are methods of pollination which are fully as interesting notice how the pollen is actually shot out from this flower the anthers of the Poor Man's Orchid are covered by the lower petals when an insect Delights on these petals the pollen is shot forth by the Catapult action of the anthers the Lupine also has a clever device for bringing insects to its Aid in carrying pollen the Lupine forms its pollen in a paste if the lower petals are pressed down they bring forward a piston which pushes out the pollen paste as is shown in this drawing this strikes the bodies of bees when they seek nectar by using a match we can see the action of the enters of the meadow Sage these anthers are controlled by a trigger and when this is pressed the anthers are forced downward a bee hunting nectar presses the trigger and becomes coated with pollen this action takes place very rapidly but if you watch closely you will see the anthers strike the being when the flower grows older the stigma grows downward then it separates and is ready to pick up the pollen from visiting insects cross fertilization is assured since male and female parts ripen at different times here we see how this occurs in nature the bachelor's button or Cornflower belongs to the composite family the most numerous among the flowering plants and possessing the most highly developed flowers in this family the head consists of a mass of small flowers which when combined offer an attractive display to Insects the small individual flowers would hardly be noticed the daisy also a composite has a number of outer flowers called Ray Flowers which are more conspicuous than the inner disc flowers each Ray is really the Petals of each individual flower join together in the daisy as in all Composites the five anthers are united in the ring and fastened to the petals insects cannot reach the pollen in these anthers but as the pistol grows up its hair-like projections collect the pollen and expose it for removal by insects then the stigma separates and is ready to receive the pollen carried by insects from another Daisy since the female part of the same flower matures later than the male part cross-pollination is assured in the dandelion also a member of the composite family the small inner flowers are nearly the same size as the outer flowers here is a magnified view of one of these flowers there are about 100 of these in the dandelion head a highly magnified view shows the pistol or female part lifting the pollen from the anthers and exposing it so that it may be carried away by insects later the stigma separates and is prepared to receive pollen from another flower after a few days if no pollen has arrived the parts of the stigma curl up still more so that it is fertilized by the pollen on its own pistol this is self-pollination it serves as a last resort the globe thistle in a similar manner has its flowers masked together to form an attractive cluster as a result of such an arrangement several flowers may be pollinated during the visit of a single insect a few flowers lacking brightly colored petals have other parts which may attract insects this car line thistle has shutter-like parts the fragrance of many flowers is also important in attracting insects the protective scales of the Everlasting also a composite form a most remarkable display here we see this flower unfolding completely a development requiring many hours in nature the numerous flowers are in the dark portion in the center in this case also it is the protective scales rather than the petals which attract insects gardeners are interested primarily in the beauty of the flowers they cultivate the Everlasting shown here has been changed in cultivating it to develop beautiful scales until it no longer has pistol or stamens therefore the flower cannot produce seeds or new plants but the same changes that have caused the loss of this function have added greatly to its delicate and symmetrical Beauty