Digital Eclipse Image Gallery
Lily Seed Embryos
Presented below is a photomicrograph of a thin section of lily seed tissue showing numerous embryos. This digital image was captured with the DXM 1200 ACT-1 control software in single-image acquisition mode utilizing fluorescence illumination.
The lily is an herbaceous flowering plant native to the temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere. The name, lily, is most frequently applied to the 80-100 species belonging to the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae.
The lily family comprises more than 250 genera and about 4,000 species of mostly herbaceous flowering plants, many with showy flowers. They are among the oldest cultivated plants, used by the ancient Greeks and Romans for medicinal purposes as well as prized garden ornamentals. The bulb of the Madonna lily was cultivated by cultures in Asia Minor for use in a ointment as early as the second millennium BC. Other members of the lily family -- garlic, onions, chives, shallots, leeks, and asparagus -- are better known for their culinary applications and were used for food by prehistoric humans. The lily flower has held significance for various cultures over thousands of years, usually as a symbol of fertility and rebirth, but also as a symbol of innocence.
