Figure 4.

Flower Polarization Patterns Are Associated with Surface Structures

Color photographs of whole flowers and individual petals (first and second columns, respectively) taken under different artificial light sources and percentage polarization false-color images of fresh petals (third column) of the gentian Eustomia russellianum (A), the garden anemone Anemone coronaria (B), and the tree mallow Lavatera × clementii “Rosea” (C). Scanning electron microscopy images, labeled (i) to (viii), of resin casts of the petals (fourth column) show the petal surface structures that result in the differently polarized regions (scale bars, 20 μm). The color bar (right margin) shows the percentage polarization of the false-color images.