From the March 26, 1932, issue
By Science News
EASTER LILY UNFOLDS TALE TO X-RAY’S PIERCING EYE
Ordinarily it is necessary to pull a flower to pieces to find what it is doing at any given moment in its development–and that, naturally, precludes one from following its development any further. One must turn to other flowers, at other stages of their unfolding, and ruin them in their turn.
But the X-ray technique evolved by Mrs. Hazel Englebrecht of Des Moines offers the possibility of studying the whole drama of a developing flower or other plant organ, and yet leaving it inviolate, its robe untorn. The cover picture of this issue of Science News Letter shows the beautiful results of the method as applied to the simple structure of the Easter lily, but it is applicable as well to more complex flowers such as snapdragon or beardtongue.