Eversion
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Dehiscence and eversion refer respectively to the splitting open and turning inside out of any structure. The examples here are concerned with anthers, which in higher plants dehisce and generally evert to release their pollen.
The anthers in Fig. a are immature, dissected out before the flower opened. They show the lines (magenta arrows) along which the outer layers of tissue have broken down to create a zone of weakness. It is along these lines that the anthers will dehisce when ripe.
Figs. b & c show that in C. crocosmiifolia and L.
longiflorum dehiscence is followed by an incomplete
eversion. In C. crocosmiifolia the two halves of the
anther unfold flat, but do not re-curve. In L. longiflorum, the anthers lie in back-to-back pairs which
prevents them from fully re-curving. One of the pair
of anthers (blue arrow) has only just dehisced and is
not yet fully open. In another pair, original outer
surface (red asterisk) is clearly visible.
