A Zinnia

When I walked through the garden at midday, about to pick some corn for lunch, I noticed this zinnia that had just fully opened. Its beautiful shapes struck me: the round of small yellow "flowers" around a rich mahogony center of marvelous form, with a deep empty eye. I ran to get my camera and shot a close-up in order to better see the details. I hope you'll click on the image to see the enlargement if you're interested in floral reproduction, because it turned out that those yellow parts are covered with pollen so must be the stamens, the male part, of the flower. What looks wonderfully decorative, like a spring garland, is actually a means of survival.