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Amaryllidaceae:
Vallota
Cactaceae:
Iridaceae:
Stigma of Vallota
Click on either of the images to see the fully expanded version.
Like all the Amaryllidaceae, Vallota speciosa is hermaphrodite, i.e. both sexes in the same individual. The stigma is the receptor surface for pollen grains and represents the female part of the flower.
The style is ca. 2”/50 mm long and projects out beyond the petals and the anthers, suggesting that it is ready to be wind as well as insect pollinated. In common with many of the Amaryllidaceae, the stigma (blue asterisk - Fig.1) is trilobate, i.e. it is divided into three distinct and separate surfaces.
Fig. 2 is a high resolution Z-stack image of the stigma. it shows that the three separate surfaces arise because the style itself splits into three branches, some 500 µ below the stigma surface (red asterisk).
The cells that make up the stigma are about the same size as the pollen grains (ca. 90 µ long and 35 µ wide) and are orientated along the axis of the style, i.e. at right angles to the stigma surface. This gives the surface its characteristic papillate texture and also a large area. There are several yellow pollen grains clearly visible, attached to it. (Fig. 2 is seen to best advantage at full resolution.)
Click here to see micrograph of open anther.
