Tuesday, January 29, 2008

The Birds, The Bees, and African Violets


When I walked into the room, my attention was drawn to the three African Violets sitting on the Baker's rack in the south window. One was violet (well, sure!), one pristine white, and one frilly purple and white.

The white one was in absolute full glorious angelic bloom, so clean and literally sparkling, it made me wonder why I hadn't noticed it at all the day before. It's been blooming for at least a couple of weeks, and you wouldn't expect it to look so good after that long, but it was about as close to perfection as it gets. Naturally, the next move for me was to grab the camera and record the beauty and now I'm going to share it with you:



Up close, it's even better...


When I saw this photo on the computer screen, different words ran through my head: pistil, stamen, anther, stigma. And once again, as happens over and over to me, I couldn't tell you which of those corresponds to what structure in that photo. I can remember - and spell - the Latin names for countless plants, but I can't remember what is the pistil, what is the stamen, what is the anther, what is the stigma. I can look this up over and over again, and it just falls through my brain like water through a sieve.

For the record, the four yellow balls are the anthers and the stalks they're on are called filaments. Together, they make up the stamens. The long white thing is the style, with the ball on the end being called the stigma. These comprise the pistil. Ask me in five minutes and I won't be able to tell you any of that from memory.

All I know is that the African Violets are gorgeous right now and they have all the parts they're supposed to. Oh look! This one has a purple pistil! At least I think it's the pistil...


13 comments:

Cindy Garber Iverson said...

I love how the petals glisten! They sparkle in a natural sort of way. And you've captured them so beautifully. Thank you for the violet pick-me-up!

Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage

Meg said...

Wonderful photos! The petals on the closeup look so pearly white. I love African violets--they're the only houseplant I can reliably get to flower, so I have a soft spot for them, I think.

Bob said...

Incredible pictures. You really captured the crystals in the petals.
All the best, Bob

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Kylee, stop this at once, you know you're taunting me. I can't have african violets because the Vita Coon destroys them all. snif!

Great pics, especially the second one where you can see the sparkling close up and personal. I hope your violets will flower for a long time to come.

Mamma Sarah said...

Great photos. I have no green thumb for violets, but I'm glad to see that you have such great success with them!

Robin's Nesting Place said...

Kylee, I don't have a scientific mind at all and can never remember them either.

The AV blooms are so pretty. Great job on the close-ups!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

OOOOoooooo that sparkle is wonderful. My MIL has a white one that does that. Love it.

Unknown said...

Let's call it fibro brain-fog, shall we? It happens to me all the time too, even though I KNOW what each piece is and what it does...it's just one of those little brain fart things...

Muum said...

These are loverly. I picked up a pink one in the clearance cart at the grocery store. I love your closeups, makes me want a better camera!

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Incredible macro shots!

Jessica said...

BEAUTIFUL pictures! I love the violets' shimmery petals, but I never seem to be able to capture it! I'm jealous! :)

Connie said...

By any name...all the parts contribute to a lovely flower, which you captured so beautifully!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! I really love the sparkly 'glistening' blooms, a photo bonus! :)

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