The Birds And The Bees ... And The Plants : The Picture ShowPollen makes a lot of us miserable. But these photos might make you forget that hatred. In the December issue of National Geographic magazine, Swiss molecular biologist Martin Oeggerli used a scanning electron microscope to get a close-up look at ...
A hummingbird assists in the pollination of an orchid. (Christian Ziegler/National Geographic)
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Although cameras keep getting bigger and better, there are still some things that they just can't capture — mainly the things that are smaller. In National Geographic's December issue, Swiss molecular biologist Martin Oeggerli used a scanning electron microscope to look at grains of pollen. The 3-D images, originally black-and-white, and then enhanced with color, look oddly alien. And I hate to say it — because I hate pollen — but they're surprisingly pretty.
Forget-me-not pollen
Martin Oeggerli/National Geographic
Forget-me-nots
by Flickr user dawnzy58
Wedged between two flower petals, this grain of willow pollen missed the mark and will die.
Martin Oeggerli/National Geographic
Blowing willow
by Flickr user waldenpond
Persian silk tree pollen
Martin Oeggerli/National Geographic
Persian silk tree
by Flickr user OliBac
Indian mallow pollen
Martin Oeggerli/National Geographic
Indian mallow
by Flickr user TANAKA Juuyoh
A convoluted surface of this flowering quince pollen grain helps to speed up moisture absorption, which is key in fertilization.
Martin Oeggerli/National Geographic
Flowering quince
by Flickr user Lizbeth*King
This pollen, from a pine, is what you find covering your car windshield in the spring.
Martin Oeggerli/National Geographic
Pine tree
by Flickr user FreeWine
Although the grain size, like those on this geranium, is measured in millionths of a meter, but the grains have an epic journey for pollination.
