Floral studies I: Snapdragon Narrative by Utkrishta Mulmi Photography by Anita Bhattarai

Snapdragon: common name

Antirrhinum majus: scientific name Date of observation: 28 February 2019 Equipment: microscope, glass slide, scissors, snapdragon flowers, tray, tweezers Goal: To observe the physiology and anatomy of Antirrhinum majus flower. Participants: Kashi (2 years old), Neela (3 years old), Mahika (4 years old), Vidheha (5 years old), Amulya (6 years old), Bishes (6 years old), Aarambha (7 years old), Snigdha (7 years old), Suprit (8 years old), Shila (10 years old), Utkrishta (12 years old), Anita (13 years old), facilitated by Pallav with assistance from Utu and Anita Achievement: Studied the external physiology of the flower. Saw distinct changes in color and patterns of petals. Separated ovary, filament with intact anthers from the main body. Looked at the pollen sacs. Microscopic observation: petals (10x x 15x), pollen (10x x 45x), filaments (10x x 15x).

General knowledge: parts of the flower and their function

1. Petal: to attract insects and other pollinators. In Snapdragons’ case petals have an upper lip and a lower lip that pollinators have to go through in which process they brush down or carry the pollen to the ovary area increasing the chances of fertilization
2. Scent or stink: to attract pollinators such as bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, flies, etc.
3. Nectar: to attract insects such as bees, butterflies, flies, etc.
4. Anther: to hold pollen until they are ready to be taken to ovary or as food (bees make bread of pollen) by pollinators
5. Filament: the long filament grows into the anther which holds pollen
6. Pollen: serves as male component that fertilizes female component the ovules in ovaries
7. Ovary: to produce ovules and to hold them until they are mature, then to hold the fertilized ovules so new seeds can form
8. Style: to provide the ovaries with pollen
9. Stigma: at the top of the style helps collect pollen
10. Gibba: holds nectar
11. Sepals: to provide protection to the floral basem lots of sepals around the base is called a calyx
12. Staminodium: to provide protection to ovaries

Narrative Kashi enjoying Geranium. (snapdragons in the background) Everyone participating in the observation said they love snapdragon flowers. The flowers chosen were purple in color and grown in the little flower patch at school. We have 3 different colored snapdragons. Since the children themselves planted and watered them it was especially rewarding to choose, pick and study them. The flowers sprout in long stalk like stems and the flowers grow right from the stem. Snapdragon is the common name of the flower, its scientific name is Antirrhinum majus. Antirrhinum majus is a species of flowering plant belonging to the genus Antirrhinum. They are called snapdragons because if squeezed laterally they look like a dragon’s mouth opening.

These Antirrhinum majus flowers are very attractive with their many different colors that rise from the base and change in intensity. And it is very fun to hold the flowers and to make them “talk”. “Hello, I will eat your nose,” Utu said while opening a snapdragon’s “mouth” and all the small ones laughed! Physiology Snapdragons have a very distinctive structure. They technically only have one petal that is divided into the upper and lower lip. Inside a hollow created by the petals are the anthers on filaments and the style. At the base of the petal is the ovary, the staminodium, the nectar in the gibba, and the sepals holding the flower to the stem. Vidheha looking at pollen and anthers of a snapdragon Reproduction related anatomy

   

Snapdragons have both male and female parts: anthers as well as ovaries. Some plants only have male parts or female parts. The reproductive system of the snapdragon is interesting to study. The anthers stick out of the flower and hold the pollen while the ovary is at the bottom with the style coming out of the ovary to collect the pollen with the help of pollinators.

Simple reproductive process Snapdragons have pretty petals and nectar to attract pollinators like bees and wasps. Pollinators go inside the petals and to the gibba to get the nectar. Their body, wings and limbs shake the pollen from the anthers or carry them into the style from where pollen goes to the ovary and the ovule in the ovule gets fertilized.

Under the microscope is always amazing

Mahika looking at a microscopic view of snapdragons After getting the microscope out we carefully took apart a snapdragon’s upper and lower lip to get to the pollen and anthers. We put one anther with pollen on the glass slide and looked inside the eyepiece. After adjusting the focus, we saw yellow stalks on which were pearl like pollen on anthers.

We couldn’t see the pollen that had burst out of the anthers onto the petals so we tried to use a petal with lots of pollen on it. We had to change the objective lens and got different results. This time we saw bubbly, purple, curvy, lines. We saw whitish-purplish-yellowish bubbly lines also with fully grown filaments with pollen.

It was quite windy so we got out of the sun into the shadows. We saw more and more different microscopic views. We saw newly forming filaments, fully grown filaments with pollen, extreme close ups of pollen, bubbly petals. We learned about all the different parts of the flower and saw lots of different microscopic views that looked more like modern abstract art!