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Blog Post #7: Flower Dissection


1. For the first step of the flower dissection lab, we took a closeup picture of our plant before we dissected it. My partner, Colin Sims, went to the garden to pluck 3 flowers, while I got the lab microscope. At this step, the plant is still intact and not damaged whatsoever. Iin later steps, we will proceed to remove the sepals, petals and any other parts of the plant while we analyze how the Brassica oleracea plants reproduce.




2.  In this step, Colin and I removed the sepals and petals of the flower pictured above. Removing these pieces was needed to further analyze the flower and how it reproduces. Pictured below is the same flower as above, however without the sepals and petals. In this picture, we can see the anthers of the flower as the yellow tips connected to each filament. The entire filament connected to the anther is known as the stamen. The stamen is the male reproductive anatomy in the flower that produces pollen.







3. In this step, Colin and I analyzed the flower pictured above under the microscope. In this photo, we can see each Anther with great detail. We can even see the stigma and part of the style in the middle of the photo, between the anthers. I personally can say that this flower is perfect, because it contains both of the male and female anatomies required to reproduce. It’s really fascinating.






4.  For the next step, Colin and I removed the filaments and anthers so we could focus our image and analysis on the carpel. The carpel is relevant to our focus of the reproductive functions of these plants because the carpel is the female reproductive anatomy. Within this image, we can see the style as the long green stalk leading up to the bright green tip called the stigma. The stigma is where pollen adheres.




5. The following step was to cut the ovary lengthwise with scissors. We can clearly see the ovary under the microscope in this photograph. Within the ovary are ovules waiting to be fertilized. The ovules are structures within the ovary that develop into seeds when fertilized. Ovules are not pictured. This part was difficult, as we didn’t want to damage the parts and it was a precise process, especially with some very large scissors.



6.  For the final step, we were to take an anther and tap some pollen onto a glass slide to make a wet mount slide. We retrieved a light compound microscope from our teacher, Mr. Bursch, and then proceeded to study the pollen under the microscope. The pollen is pictured below.








Fertilization can occur in a flower through pollination. Pollination occurs when pollen from the anther lands on the stigma. Next, a pollen tube grows from the through the style and into the ovary from the pollen grain. Sperm cells from the pollen will then lead into the ovary. The ovary contains ovules, which will be the sperm cells' final destination.

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