Red Tulip Background Information

The tulip was originated in Persia and Turkey centuries ago. Tulip played an important role in Turkish art and culture of that time. The name tulip derived from the Turkish tradition of wearing tulips in one's turban, therefore tulip means turban in Persian word. Tulips are also known as the fame and perfect love. Red tulips mean "believe me" and are a declaration of true love.

Tulips are one of the easiest flower to grow. Tulips are classified as a perennial flower, meaning they grow and bloom over the spring and summer, die back every autumn and winter, and then return in the spring. Tulips will best grow in a way that matches the climate of their native region, which is the cold winters and hot, dry summers.

Photo from Cindy Dyer's Blog

Background Research: Echinacea

Echinacea is native from Florida to NE Texas to Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, and Iowa. The beautiful pink and purple flower generally grows in kind of dry areas, like in sands, prairies, open woods, clay, loam, limestone, and thickets. Echinacea flowers now grow all over the United States, ranging from New York to Arkansas, and have also sprouted up in southern Canada in Ontario and Quebec.

Photo of Echinacea flower From Missouri Botanical Garden

SEM photos of Echinacea

Photo by Shane (2000x)

Photo by Shane (2000x) Measurement: 34.5 um

Photo by Shane (3900x)

Photo by Shane (14400x)

Photo by Shane (20000x)

SEM photos Red Tulip

Red Tulip pollen 345x

Photo by Ruth Carr

Red Tulip pollen 2000x

Photo by Ruth Carr

Red Tulip polen 2000x with measurement. 54.5mm

Photo by Ruth Carr

Red Tulip pollen 5500x

Photo by Ruth Carr

Red Tulip pollen 4750x

Photo by Ruth Carr

SEM pictures Crocosmia Pollen

Crocosmia pollen 2020x

Photo by Ruth Carr

Crocosmia Pollen with measurements 2020x, 54.2mm long

Photo by Ruth Carr

Crocosmia pollen 2000x 

Photo by Ruth Carr

Crocosmia pollen 5650x

Photo by Ruth Carr

Crocosmia Pollen 5650x

Photo by Ruth Carr

Crocosmia Pollen 1300x 

photo by Ruth Carr

Team Agreement

Team Agreement:
Ruth-Background Research
Grant-Background Research
Shane-Photos
Madison-Preparing slides, microscopes

Addendum:
Ruth-Background Research and photos
Grant-Background research
Shane-Background Research and photos
Madison-Preparing slides, blog work

Question and Hypothesis

Question
Does the shape/color of pollen change depending on where the plant is native to?

Hypothesis
We hypothesize that depending on the native region of a plant, the look of the pollen will change. Plants with more similar habitats will have similar pollen, and therefore be more closely related. If our hypothesis is prove correct, we will distinct differences in the pollen, but there will be more similarities in plants with closer native regions.