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Flowers are the reproductive structures of flowering plants. Typically they are structured in four circular levels around the end of a stalk. These include: sepals, modified leaves that support the flower; petals, often designed to attract pollinators; male parts, where pollen is presented; and female parts, where pollen is received and its movement is facilitated to the egg. Pollen, produced in the male sex cells, is transported between the male and female parts of flowers in pollination. Pollen movement may be caused by animals or factors such as wind or water. After pollination, the female part of the flower forms a fruit, and the other floral structures die. The fruit protects the seed and aids in its dispersal. Flowers first evolved between 150 and 190 million years ago, in the Jurassic. Plants with flowers dominate the majority of the world's ecosystems, and themselves range from tiny orchids and major crop plants to large trees. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Lizzie the elephant pulling a cart

... that Thos. W. Ward Ltd. used camels and an elephant named Lizzie (pictured) to replace horses during World War I?
... that Rendon Labador was invited by the Philippine National Police to lead a 93-day fitness program, but his involvement ended abruptly after just a few days?
... that Indonesia's current state apparatus minister, Rini Widyantini, was appointed as spokesperson in a coffee morning event?
... that Frank Page built roads in France during World War I and was put in charge of North Carolina's highway system after the war?
... that "New York City" has been described as a "stupidly fun B-side"?
... that American football player Willie Culpepper said that he was fined for dropping a pass in practice?
... that "Je te laisserai des mots" was the first French-language song to reach one billion streams on Spotify?
... that Caquetá Department, despite its high Human Development Index score, had a 44.8% poverty rate in 2021?
... that a New Zealand dairy co-operative adjusted their collection schedule so that Andy Oliver could go to bed on time?

In the news

Miguel Uribe Turbay

Colombian senator Miguel Uribe Turbay (pictured), a pre-candidate in the 2026 presidential election, dies two months after being shot.
Azerbaijan and Armenia sign a declaration to formalize a future peace treaty to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
American astronaut Jim Lovell, the commander of Apollo 13, dies at the age of 97.
A helicopter crash in the Ashanti Region, Ghana, kills eight people on board including ministers Edward Omane Boamah and Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed.

On this day

August 21

Xá Lợi Pagoda, raided by South Vietnamese special forces

1717 – Austro-Turkish War: Austrian troops under Prince Eugene of Savoy captured the strategically important city of Belgrade from the Ottoman Empire.
1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army lost the Battle of the Tenaru, the first of its three major land offensives during the Guadalcanal campaign.
1963 – South Vietnamese special forces loyal to Ngô Đình Nhu, the brother of President Ngô Đình Diệm, raided and vandalised Buddhist pagodas (one pictured) across the country, arresting thousands and leaving hundreds dead.
2015 – Passengers on a Thalys train from Amsterdam to Paris confronted and subdued an attacker who attempted a mass shooting.

Baldwin II of Jerusalem (d. 1131)
John Claypole (b. 1625)
Ettore Bugatti (d. 1947)
Millie Bright (b. 1993)

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Today's featured picture

Sarcophyton glaucum, also known as toadstool leather coral or rough leather coral, is a species of soft coral in the family Alcyoniidae, found from the Red Sea to the western Pacific Ocean. Like other members of Alcyoniidae, it does not have a hard exoskeleton. They are sedentary and taxonomically identified by calcareous sclerites on their exoskeletons, and feature polyps with eight tentacles. Sarcophyton corals build monospecific colonies, typically found in a range of intertidal, subtidal, and near-shore reef flat habitats. Individual S. glaucum corals grow up to 80 centimetres (31 in), usually on reef flats, in lagoons, or on seaward slopes. This S. glaucum coral formation was photographed in the Red Sea off the coast of Ras Katy, near Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Photograph credit: Diego Delso

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