Sunflowers, members of the Asteraceae family, are actually made of hundreds of tiny flowers, not just one large one. The center of a sunflower is packed with tiny flowers called disc florets, seen here. The “petals” around the edge of the sunflower head (the whole thing is called an inflorescence) are called ray florets. [x]

flora-file:

buds and fruits (by flora-file)

katabaticwind:

This is Fritillaria thunbergii.  A hardy fritillaria that has naturalized in the Wild Garden at Wave Hill.  Those tendril like leaves curl around neighboring stems and leaves so that the plant can hold itself up more effectively.  The pale greenish, creamy blooms are quite lovely in the spring.  I hadn’t tried looking directly up the downward facing flowers before and was surprised to see that they’re checkered, much like another more familiar fritillary, Fritillaria meleagris.  Hardy to zone 5.

The scientific name for basil is Ocimum basilicum, and it is in the mint family, Lamiaceae. In some countries it is known as Saint Joseph’s Wort and it is originally from India. [x]

Palm oil is derived from the fruit of oil palms, such as the above Elaeis oleifera. It is present in many foods and can also be used to produce biodiesel. [x]

Trees move water through their vascular tissue: a system of tubes that runs through the plant, analogous to the veins in the human body. There are two types of these tubes, xylem and phloem. The xylem moves water up the plant, from the roots to the leaves, and the phloem moves sugar-rich water down to feed the body of the plant. When you wound a tree, the sap is liquid leaking from the vascular system. [x]

microscopicexpressionism:

Microscopic Plant Cells.