1• Finally showing signs of dying, this cut flower had been open for at least 10 days at the time this shot was taken.

going small to see BIG? Or is it BIG to see small? #2

continuing a series about going macro to see micro

Text and photos by LensAfield

This installment continues another deep exploration into a typical Valentine’s bouquet. This time I will focus on the lilies.

When the bouquet arrived it had only one opened lily, the one shown above. As florists usually do, the pollen has been pinched off because it stains horribly and doesn’t look good on the petals. The pistol has also been cut back. The flower has been “fixed.”

Pinching also adds longevity. The flower attempts to complete its now-impossible mission for as long as it can stay alive and functional as a cut stem.

The bouquet had several more unopened lilies, so I decided to follow the flowering process as far as I could before the cuttings gave up the ghost. I wanted to get up close to show the structures in fine detail…or as E.B. likes to call it, “flower porn.” So close the blinds, put the kids to bed, turn down the lights, put on some cool jazz and let’s get into it.

2• grand opening sequence

3• featuring the female

4•

5• Note that at this stage there has been very little pollen production

6•

7• fully opened and primed for action

8• Getting closer to the male detail. On the right, compare the tiny purplish spot in the upper packet with the purplish areas in image 5 to see how much more pollen has been produced in the few short hours it took for the flower to fully open.

9• Tiny spots of pollenation on the pistol in the early morning are evidence that secret activities had occurred under the cover of darkness. Their mission complete, the male structures are receding (whoa!…had a momentary but powerful sense of déjà vu…)

10• Unlike the “fixed” flower in the banner image, after only a few days of being opened, its function completed, all flower structures show signs of accelerated decline and increasing disintegration.

In the next installment, I will conclude my voyeurism into the sex lives of other bouquet inhabitants.