For my visit to the SEM I observed a tea called UnFrazzle Your Dazzle (contains: Chamomile, Oatstraw, Red Clover, Skullcap, Catnip, Linden Flower, Spearmint, Violet, Jasmine, & Love (didn’t happen to find the love in my observations, probably didn’t make it into the sample). It was really exciting to see the textures of the dried plants and discover the pollen that had made its way seemingly everywhere.
We see here the chamomile leaves and flowers. I didn’t know prior to this that what I thought of as the ‘flower’ is actually many tiny flowers in the center. They can be seen here.
Moving in much closer, we can see pollen spores in the flower petals. The spiky looking pieces in the middle of the photo are fully formed pollen, whereas the blood-cell-like piece towards the top right of the image is an undeveloped pollen spore. The crinkled texture of the petals are due to the drying of the plant.
Some more pollen, pictured here on the leaf of the chamomile flower. The empty pockets on the surface are the dried cells of the leaf. Living they would be filled with water and spread smoother.
We were unsure what we are seeing here, however we can tell that it is likely a piece of some plant that has been broken off, due to the jagged edges.
Another ingredient of the tea! Unsure exactly what plants we are seeing here as well, but the texture ad forms are fascinating!
Stereo Images: