Violets

=Violets= Scientific name: //Viola// Family: //violaceae// Appearance: small, white and purple, heart-shaped flowers with stems varying in length but low to the ground. 400-500 different species, mostly found in the Northern Hemisphere however some are found in Australia. Can be annual or perennial plants. This species is a small shrub or weed, but aesthetically pleasing in a garden.

__Team members; Alannah Mackay, Lauren Powell, Kyle Ewart, Lillian Donnelly__

Floral Morphology

 * Figure 1.** Measurement of a Violet flower using vernier calipers (mm)

**Observations**
Table 1: Measurements of floral structures (mm) using calipers Average length of anther: 0.35 Standard deviation: 0.04 Average length of petals: 0.93 Standard Deviation: 0.25 Average length of stem: 6.96 Standard Deviation: 3.20 Average length of Stigma: 0.01 Standard Deviation: 0.11
 * Replicates || Anthers (mm) || Petals (mm) || Stem (mm) || Stigma (mm) ||
 * 1 || 0.4 || 1.3 || 9.8 || 0.5 ||
 * 2 || 0.3 || 0.7 || 3.4 || 0.2 ||
 * 3 || 0.3 || 1.3 || 5.7 || 0.3 ||
 * 4 || 0.3 || 0.9 || 11.4 || 0.2 ||
 * 5 || 0.3 || 1.1 || 10.6 || 0.2 ||
 * 6 || 0.3 || 1.0 || 6.0 || 0.3 ||
 * 7 || 0.3 || 0.7 || 6.2 || 0.2 ||
 * 8 || 0.4 || 1.0 || 9.9 || 0.5 ||
 * 9 || 0.3 || 0.6 || 3.2 || 0.4 ||
 * 10 || 0.3 || 0.7 || 3.4 || 0.3 ||

From our observations, the length of the stem varied significantly, standard deviation: 3.20. Anthers, petals and stigma were more consistent as they are more important structures for fertilisation.

Pollen Morphology
Figure 2. different stages of spherical pollen, viewed using a compound microscope at 40x objective lens.

Judging by the fluorescent nature of the pollen under the Uv light, we can predict that the pollen is designed to attract animal vectors such as bees (as bees can see in the ultra violet spectrum)

Nectar Characterisation
Violets are known to produce nectar but our flowers did not produce large enough quantities of nectar to make any glucose measurements. As the flower is very small, we suspect small insects and birds would obtain the nectar from the flower and assist in fertilisation.