Despite the cold, spring IS here!

The daffodils are out in all their golden glory.

And it’s the perfect time for an egg hunt.

With a difference …

BECAUSE those lovely yellow daffodils are hiding a whole stash of secret eggs.

For little fingers to discover.

And are the perfect flower to dissect to really understand what goes on when a flower is pollinated.

And when I say dissect, I really mean cut up.

Or gently pull apart.

As it’s fun to feel the textures of the different parts of the flower.

AND it means all you need for this fun activity is a daffodil or two.

AND your mobile phone. Nothing else.

So here goes, how to dissect a daffodil and understand how it’s pollinated.

N.B. Make sure children and pets DO NOT eat any part of the daffodil.

Dissecting Daffodils

1. Grab A Daffodil

Just grab a daffodil.

This one from our front garden was a bit bashed by the snow.

And admire it’s golden gown!
 

2. Buzz Close Up Like A Bee

Then buzz up close like a bee.

And check out what you can see.

Inside the petals spot that long thin trumpet.

Surrounded by all that pollen.

We’re going to check them out first.

Before we go hunting the daffodil’s eggs.
 

3. Gently Take Off Outer Petals

Gently take off the the outer petals?

And have a wonder why the daffodil might have outer and inner petals.

And why those inner petals – the corona – are sometimes a different colour.

Could it be to attract the bee from a distance?

And then to direct it into the pollen?

Yes. But there’s also something else inside the corona the daffodil needs the bees to visit.

Let’s have a look.
 

4. Pull Away Inner Crown

Gently pull away the inner crown.

And can you see that long thin trumpet that stretches out past the pollen?

That’s the style and the flared bit at the end is the stigma.

Now the daffodil, needs its own pollen – or another daffodil’s pollen – to reach its stigma.

So the clever daffodil puts its stigma in the bee’s way.

The bee cannot buzz to or from the yummy pollen without passing the stigma.

AND the stigma is just a little bit sticky.

So as the bee rubs past it will leave pollen behind.

But what happens to the pollen once it’s on the stigma?

Let’s follow the pollen and find out.

5. Follow The Pollen

Gently peel away the dry brownish leaf at the bottom of the style.

And cut open that green bulge – the daffodil’s ovary.

Older children could use a knife.

But scissors are fine.

And we just gently broke ours apart with our fingers.

And look – can you see? – hidden treasure!

The daffodil’s very own tiny white eggs …

6. Magnify The Eggs

If you’ve got a good magnifying glass, great.

Check out the eggs under it.

But if not, just use the camera zoom on your mobile phone.

And get up close to the daffodil’s tiny ovules …

The pollen collected on the sticky stigma makes its way down to the ovaries.

And pollinates these little white eggs.

Each pollinated egg will become a seed.

From which a new daffodil can grow.

Make sure you look out for the daffodil’s seed head at the end of spring.

Pop it open and you’ll be able to see the seeds the pollinated eggs became.

And you could plant them.

BUT you will have to be patient.

Because your little daffodil will not produce its own eggs … or it’s own golden gown …

… for another 4 or 5 years. Wow!

Which is why we usually grow daffodils from bulbs.

I do hope you have fun dissecting your daffodils.

Do check out my other simple ideas for exploring nature with children.

And follow my Facebook page which is all about kids enjoying the great outdoors.