From: Theodore Held <oppenhauser2001 at gmail.com> on 2009.01.21 at 19:30:16
All,
Here's a picture of a cut-away of a Pistia flower. The encasing shroud that I have removed is all fuzzy. It's actually difficult to slice with all the dense hairs. What you see in the interior is apparently the only part of this plant that is not fuzzy. To the upper left are the male parts. I assume that the occasional little cells appearing in the grooves are the pollen. I think this particular specimen is not yet at male anthesis. To the lower right is the female member with a single receptive tip. Should pollination occur, I believe, the lower portion of the female part will swell slightly, containing seeds. The two elements are contained in nearly separate chambers, connected only slightly. The smooth green stuff is a base to which the sexual parts are attached. This is a small world. Not as small as a Lemna flower, but far smaller than the other aroids that are usually discussed here. Ted. --000e0cd29b4c8896360461032f4d----000e0cd29b4c8896420461032f4f
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