Anthers
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Most anthers are essentially similar
in structure: a series of one or more pollen sacs, which dehisce and generally evert, exposing a surface heavily
coated with pollen grains. In these three examples of pollen loaded anthers C. tomasinianus shows the most obvious sign of eversion, with part of the original outer
surface still clearly visible (red asterisk*). Though if you look closely you will see that there has also been eversion in both Z. truncatus and Lilium cv.
The total pollen load carried by a flower, and the rate at which it is shed also vary greatly, but this variation is more often a function of the number of stamens rather than the amount of pollen per stamen (see examples of how they vary). The example shown here is a typical lily anther - brightly coloured and with a heavy pollen load. Although lilies have relatively few stamens - usually six in the ornamental varieties - their size, and the bright colour of the pollen, often makes the stamens a prominent feature of the flower.
