It is an Azalea!

I few weeks ago I posted this picture in a blog and asked for help identifying it and Sarah told me it was an azalea.

Well now this little guy is in full bloom! And much easier to identify as an Azalea by the blooms. 

So then I became interested in the parts of the flower since we learned all about botany earlier this semester. 

In this picture you can see the sepal leaves of the flower that protect the bud before bloom. 

In this picture we can see that the flower is a perfect flower because it has both a stamen (male) and a pistal (pistal).  The anthers (male parts) which seem to have white tips and the stigma has a pink tip. Also on reading about azalea they have a system to not self pollinate themselves. 

"Rhododendron flowers produce sticky, dripping pollen from anthers as blossoms open. The female pistil, which receives pollen, doesn't become sticky and receptive to pollen for a couple days later. This prevents self-pollination."(http://www.ehow.com/facts_7827694_rhododendrons-pollinated.html#ixzz2RU1o0JzT)