For some reason student was having difficulty

seeing the parts of a flower

mainly the female and male parts

this is part of the challenge of online instruction

whereby something relatively simple

becomes complicated

whereby a lab exercise that is fun and shared

becomes an exercise in isolation, clicking and wondering

anyhow

flowers are still blooming everywhere

so do a walkabout, make some new friends

I went around and took pictures of flowers to show you

was going to label them all, but that would take all the fun and challenge away now wouldn’t it?!

take a good look, keep an eye out for the male stamens

and the female pistil with the ovary at the base

males can be few to numerous, with a bit of fuzz look to them cause of the pollen, you are looking for a long oval with a slit more or less

females are in the center

the tip is sometimes a little club, or divided into a fork, or a cross, or partitioned further

also note that the timing is sometimes staggered

that is to say, the males may be ripe and mature, while the female is hardly developed

in another flower, the males may have already faded and dried, along with the petals, while the females are just starting

we will start with a few pictures labelled

then the rest is up to you. good luck finding the sex parts on flowers:

The following flowers

I skipped em

cause the parts are easy to see in person with a razor blade and a hand lens

not so easy for me to show you online

The rose family is tricky

cause theres sometimes a whole lotta pistils all cluttered together

plus the way the breeders hybridize em

the parts can be a mess to discern

heres a couple of rose family flowers:

Once in a while you run into one of these around town

a princess flower

We will end this entry

with a puff of plant sperm pollen

aaaahhhhcccchhhhooooooooooooo!