Re: HYB: where's the pollen?
- To: iris-talk
- Subject: Re: HYB: where's the pollen?
- From: l* M*
- Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 21:34:17 -0400
Remembering my confusion about finding the stigmatic lip, even with
pictures (which weren't enlarged and detailed enough - arrow vaguely
pointing in the direction of the center of the bloom didn't help)...
Imagine following a big ol bumblebee clomping along the bushy iris beard
- his/her head is in between the fall of the iris and the style arm,
with the standards on either side. So the style arm is over the bee's
head and back.
Where's the pollen - Underneath the style arm is the lance-shaped male
part of the flower - the entire thing is called the stamen, the anther
is back towards the bumblebee's butt at the end of the 'spear'. It
consists of two tubular bits attached to each other along one side.
These contain the pollen IF there is any. Sometimes the entire stamen
is shriveled, sometimes looks ok but contains no pollen. When 'ripe',
these long tubes split open and spread out more or less flat exposing
the fluffy pollen. The whole stamen is pressed tightly against the
underside of the style arm and is hard to see until you pry things
around a bit.
Where's the stigmatic lip - farther toward the back end of the bee, not
quite at the end of the style arm. This was the part I had trouble
figuring out because the stigmatic lip is often pressed tightly against
the underside of the style arm and can be almost invisible. The end of
the style arm is often frilly or split or with a different colored
edge. When it is split, it is often split down to the stigmatic lip,
which makes finding the lip easier if you are as dense as I was. <g>
The iris I was looking at a few minutes ago to try to figure out how to
describe parts has a lavender stigmatic lip on a tan style arm!! A true
beginner's iris! Supposed to be JAIL BIRD - bought this one at a flea
market yesterday. Memphis bred, if that's its real name.
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7?
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