Stamens of Picris echioides 2of2

Description:

Description: English: Part of a flowerhead of Picris echioides (Asteraceae, Cichorieae) showing many individual ray-florets, each with a style ending in two divergent long stigmas. The five anthers in each floret are connected to eachother, forming a narrow tube. While the style grows through this tube, it hoovers up pollen grains on its hairs. From there visiting insects are dusted with pollen which they wipe off on the stigmas of the next flower head they visit. As the florets mature, the stigmas curl back untill eventually coming into contact with the style, thus ensuring self-pollination if cross-pollination did not succeed. Source: Own work. Author: Hildesvini.