Conclusion/Experiment Reflection

      Our original research question was: What are the similarities between sunflowers and daisies and what makes them different from lilies? Our hypothesis, based on our prior knowledge and basic observations, was: We believe that daisies and sunflowers will have more similarities than they have to lilies, and therefore, are more closely related to each other than they are to lilies because of their similar pollen structure, petals shape and texture, and stem shape as opposed to the lily's trumpet-like shape and thin, round stem. Through background research, we found that, indeed, sunflowers and daisies share many similarities and are even in the same family--Asteraceae; lilies are part of the Liliaceae family and have many differences from sunflowers and daisies. Then, by photographing and analyzing pictures of our three plant subects' pollen using a Leica microscope, the SEM, and observing them under a normal microscope, we found that daisy and sunflower pollen appear extremely similar whereas lily pollen appears very different.