#pollengrain

[ynoushuzaxy-blog]

#gumamela #pollengrain #flower

[jolenesaldivar]

The beauty of pollen.

It may come as a surprise to some people that the lifecycle of plants are far more complex than that of humans or other animals. Their diplohaplontic lifestyles coupled with their extremely complex sexual reproduction and fertilization processes are confusing, to say the least. However, we rely on plants and the things that they produce to survive. Plants are magnificent and beautiful, so I figured that I'd share these amazing pictures of pollen grains. Extracting and examining pollen grains under high magnification was one of my favorite things to do in lab. I never thought that they could be so detailed and intricate until I saw photos like this one, and I examined them myself. Gotta love the beauty of science and technology.

Pollen comes in many forms and sizes. The diameter of a pumpkin pollen grain (at center) is as thick as a dollar bill. The tiny speck at its lower right is a grain of forget-me-not pollen.

See more at: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/12/pollen/oeggerli-photography