Water mint flower (Mentha aquatica),coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM). The stamens,the flower's male reproductive parts,are at top centre. Each stamen consists of a filament (stalk) and a pollen-bearing anther (pad at top). The pistil,the flower's female reproductive parts,are at centre right. It consists of the stigma (forked part),style (stalk) and ovary (not seen). Pollen grains,a flower's male reproductive cells,land on the stigma and burrow a tube down to the ovary,where they fertilise the female sex cell (ovule). Magnification: x45 when printed at 10 centimetres tall |