Rose stigmas. Coloured scanning electron micro- graph (SEM) of several stigmas in a Garden Rose flower, Rosa sp. The stigmas, with their numerous projections, form the free end of the carpel, the flower's female reproductive organ. They are each joined to the ovaries at the base of the carpel by a stalk-like style (also seen). Pollen grains coming into contact with the projections on the stigma may germinate & produce a tube that grows down the style & into the ovaries, which contain the female eggs. The male gamete contained in the pollen grain passes down the pollen tube and into the ovary, where fertilisation occurs to form a seed. Magnification: x36 at 5x7 cm size. Magnification: x90 at 12x16cm size.