Background Information On Flower Species

In this research project we used three flowers with anthers of varying sizes.  The three species we chose are white Asian Lilies, Pink Alstroemeria, and Christmas Peppers (capsicum annuum).  Alstroemeria are perenials that come in multiple shades of pink, yellow, purple, white, and orange.  Germination is very slow, taking one to twelve months.  Alstroemeria are angiosperms and monocots.  Asian lilies are perenials that grow from bulbs.  There are many varieties of lilies, and many plants that have the word lily in their names but are not actually part of the same genus.  Different lilies have different germination patterns, some of which are very complex. The ovary of a lily sits above the base of the anthers and their fruit are a three celled capsule. Interesting fact: lilies are toxic to cats.  Lilies have the largest anthers, followed by alstroemeria and then christmas peppers. The genus of the Christmas pepper is Capiscum annuum. The seed type of the Christmas pepper is open-pollinated. Open pollination is pollination from an outside source, such as insects, wind, birds, and other natural mechanisms. Open pollination increases biodiversity because the breeding is uncontrolled and the pollen (male parent) source is unknown. Open pollinated plants of the same genus have widely diverse species and traits within those species. Currently, more than 200 names are in use for the wide variety of peppers found in the Capiscum Annuum genus and Christmas pepper happens to be one of them. Christmas pepper flowers grow solitarily and not in groups, unlike the other flowers found in the genus. Additionally, the filaments that support the anther of the Christmas pepper are not purple, unlike the other flowers in the genus.

Christmas Pepper filament photographed using a Leica digital dissecting scope

(Image sources linked in alt-text)