Gold primrose

see this is a pin . look at the position of the style. the anthers will be half way down the petal tube. I found this fascinating when i was a child. spent many a happy hour looking into wild primroses.

So it's get the magnifying glass out time,is it? I'd need one, I suspect!

not really they have a stigma the size of a pin head. you can see it clearly in this photo. gosh how sad am i? still its the little mysteries of life that keep me going.

I didn't do Biology at school - maybe that's why this is new to me??

ah well do you want the clever bit. the pin has the stigma at the top and anthers half way down the petal tube. the thrum has anthers at the top and the stigma half way down. bee sticks tongue into a pin and gets pollen half way down its tongue. it flies to a thrum and when it sticks its tongue in deposits pollen on the lower stigma and picks up pollen from the high anthers. off it flies to another pin and cross pollinates that. they wont accept pollen from them selves until the very end of the pollination 'window' to help prevent self fertilization until all else fails. does it make sense?

try taking spent flowers off and tearing them open to see how they line up. [you dont have to of course but i now how you love you plants' secrets.]

Oooohhh....if I get time, I will! I couldn't pull a flower off until it was 'over' though, you're right there. :-))