by Dandy Lion

Sometimes we get so busy in life we forget to take the time to appreciate what is around us.  A short walk through the Garden can always change that.  During a stroll through the tropical garden, you might casually notice a beautiful passion flower.  But take a little extra time and really observe the flower and what is happening.  If you are lucky, you get to see a wonderful dance between a passing bee and the flower.  A dance they have practiced for millennia.

The bee arrives looking for a sweet sip of nectar.  It must crawl across an interesting flower.  The flower petals and sepals spread out open like a dinner plate filled with purple spaghetti (the numerous filaments).  Forming a small umbrella are arrayed five stamens and three pistils.  At the end of each stamen hangs an anther, covered in pollen.  The bee blindly crawls under this skid-plate shaped anther and collects the pollen on its back.  As the bee lunges around looking for sweet juices, it will eventually rub up under one of three stigmas – the receptor for all that pollen.  Each stigma is at the end of an arching style attached to the creamy urn-shaped ovary, where new seeds are formed.  The busy bee has helped this passion flower start a new generation.

Bee crawling under the anther and collecting pollen.

Bee leaving pollen on the stigma. Note the pollen covered anther facing up in the foreground.

Bee under the stigma - leaving pollen behind

The bee on the left is getting pollen while crawling under the anther. On the right, the second bee leaves pollen on a stigma.

Now that you have enjoyed that brief moment of nature – GET BACK TO WORK.