Azalea+Mania

The Azalea, By Nick Grose, Lisa Smoleniec, Charles Zhang and James Diack.

The Azalea is part of the rhododendron family, grows in acidic soil and shady areas throughout Australia. Whilst wild Azalea's contain nectar, our sample didn't have any, which could be attributed to the over commercialisation of the flower. The Azalea flower can reproduce asexually via cuttings, or sexually through pollination. Azalea's are a common commercial flower, and are thus a shadow of their wild counterparts.

Our group investigated the structure of an Azalea and concluded the following:


 * **Flower Property/Structure** || **Average length (mm)** ||
 * Petal || 38 ||
 * Stamen || 25 ||
 * Anther || 2 ||
 * Stigma || 31 ||
 * Width || 62 ||
 * Calyx || 6 ||
 * Petiole || 6.5 ||


 * Average number of petals:** 5
 * Average number of anthers:** 8.6
 * Average distance between stigma and anther:** 9mm (higher)

Azalea under a blacklight, the pollen becomes luminescent and can be seen above.

Showcasing the length of the ovary.



40x magnification of Azalea pollen.