Scabiosa caucasia Development (page 3)
Inside the unopened florets
What are the florets like inside before they open? Microdissection reveals they are very closely packed contents which are really a marvel of spatial organisation. As the stamens are taller than the petals and are ‘pre-grown’ before opening the need to be bent to fit within the flower.
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A closeup of a floret in the process of opening reveals the anther filaments at various stages of unbending.
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In this opened up flower, the green phyllaries have long stalks. Each floret has a collar of connected processes that give rise to the pappus
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The internal configuration of six microdissected florets in which the petals have been totally or partially removed. Note that soon after dissection some anthers have begun to open, possibly as a result of desiccation. The anthers have begun become pigmented before the loculi adopt their final configuration.
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A microdissected unopened floret cur near the top of the anthers shows the close packing of these structures
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2 microdissected unopened florets show that the pollen is in a swollen or hydrated state at this stage in development.
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A dissected floret in which the pappus and green phyllaries have been removed. It seems possible that the brown pappus bristles act to constrain circumferential grow.
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In this dissected floret the developing pappus has been retained but partially opened.
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A closeup of a partially dissected unopened floret in which the upper parts of the developing petals have been removed to reveal the folded stamen filaments on the outer surface of the anthers.
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A partially dissected floret showing the organisation of the flower as accessory structures prior to opening.