Sources

The Origin of the Six-Furrowed Configuration of Dahlia Pollen Grains

Roger P. Wodehouse

Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club , Vol. 57, No. 6 (Jun., 1930) , pp. 371-380

Published by: Torrey Botanical Society

Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2480640

Northwest Fuchsia Society

Types of Apertures

Pollen Surface 

Asain Lily Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilium_concolor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilium

Dahlia Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahlia_coccinea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahlia

Fuschia Source:
http://eol.org/pages/5465826/overview
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuchsia

Note:

The species on Dahlia and Fuchsia were not known throughout the experiment. The species listed in the pollen table are considered educated guesses. The fuchsia species was determined using information from the Northwest Fuchsia Society. The Dahlia species listed was selected because it's most common.

Pollen Comparison Table

Overall Question

What are the similarities and differences between simple and compound flowers pollen and how does the pollen show the relationship?
The simple flower: Lilium concolor
The compound flower: Dahlia coccinea
The wildcard flower: Fuchsia crytandroides

Team Agreement

Date: 12/13/13

Team Roles:

Lisa: Writing the team agreement and hypothesis

Hannah: Writing the question and blog posts

Alex: Writing the background

Chris: Writing the procedure

Addendum:
Chris: Writing part of the background information for Dahlia, posted and took pictures.

Alex: Making the table for comparing the different flowers.

Lisa: Taking pictures of the procedure reenactment, hypothesis, team agreement, and writing a portion of the procedure.

Hannah: Writing a portion of procedure and research question.

Flower Photos

Photos taken using a stereoscopic Leica microscope

Asian Lily Anther 35X

Asian Lily Anther 8X

Dahlia 8X

Dahlia 35X

Dahlia 8X

Dahlia 35X

Fuchsia 8X

Fuchsia 8X

Fuchsia 35X

Fuchsia 8X

Flower with sugar solution under 400x power microscope

Dahlia at 400x

Fuchsia at 400x

Our Asian Lily pollen was misplaced before we got around to looking at it under the microscope. 

Background Research

Fuchsia: 

• Consists mostly of shrubs or small trees.
• The first Fuchsia was discovered on the Caribbean island of Haspaniola in about 1696-1697.
• Charles Plumier was the one who discovered the first Fuchsia and named it after the renowned German botanist Leonhart Fuchs.
• There are currently almost 110 recognized species of Fuchsia. 
• The vast majority are native to South America
• They can either be deciduous or evergreen depending on the species.
• It is winter hardy but also blooms in the spring

Asian Lily:

• Also known as the Lilium concolor
• They bloom mid May through mid July.
• Size can range from 14~18 inches to  22~30inches.
• The classic Asiatic lily are trumpet shaped.
• They can grow exceptionally well in colder climate.

Dahlia:

• Known as the Dahlia coccinea
• More than 30 species of the Dahlia exists. 
• Dahlias do not attract insects because of their smell.
• Originated in mexico in 1525
• Dahlia is unique among Compositae because it has six furrows as opposed to the typical three

Introduction to Pollen Morphology and Evolution

We have investigated the pollen structure, size, and shape with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). As a team, we have looked at three different flowers and their pollen under the SEM to examine the differences in their pollen.

Plants make flowers to attract pollinators and to sexually reproduce. The male parts creates the pollen and the female parts makes a seed.

Pollen evolves slowly because it is directly related to reproduction leaves change too often and changes in pollen will show the long-time evolution.