When you look closely at a flower you will see many things you may never have noticed before. Did you notice that each flower has 6 petals? Did you count the anthers (male flower part that contains the pollen)? There are 6 anthers in each flower, too. In the center of the flower is the stigma (female flower part where the eggs are waiting for the pollen). The stigma looks like one tube, but it's made of 3 tubes that are fused together. You can see the 3 tubes if you look closely at the top of the stigma.

How are the flowers different? They each have a little different red pigment (color). The tulip (top photo) has petals all the same size. The amaryllis (bottom photo) petals are 2 different sizes. The pollen grains on the anthers aren't the same color. The anthers are different lengths.

Could you guess that the tulip and the amaryllis are related? They are kind of like cousins in the plant family called the Liliaceae, or Lily, for short.

Keep your eyes focused on flowers as you enjoy the springtime!