Were you expecting an arrangement in a vase?

You forget.  I am a biologist.

So when I cut a flower, I cut up a flower.

I removed the two sets of 3 petals from the base.

Then, I cut longitudinally into the green calyx and ovary to expose the seed-forming tissues.

Here’s a little lesson in flower parts.

The long, single pistil is the female part.

.

The top end of the pistil is called the stigma. It is sticky to capture pollen that lands on it.

Cutting the ovary in half exposes the developing seeds.

The six stamen produce yellow pollen on the ends. Pollen acts like dust if you shake or touch it.

Pollen looks like rice on 40x.

Pollen is also sticky and sometimes stains clothing. That’s why some florists cut off the stamen. Ouch!

The petal coloring shows up in cells looking like pixels on 40x.

Don’t get mad at me for dissecting my Amaryllis flower.

Your Valentine’s bouquet will die, too.  Might as well learn something before you toss it out.

Happy Valentine’s Day.