I saw 2 pollen samples- One from a Forsythia ( Forsythia suspensa )  flower, and another from a Pansy  ( Viola tricolor ) flower.  When observing the pollen from the Forsythia, I noticed little bubble like shapes under  the microscope.  I observed that there we a numerous amount of them and that they were densely packed together. This picture is a zoomed out with hundreds of pollen in the slide.

After that I viewed the pollen from the Pansy flower. Carefully I transferred the pollen from the flower to the slide,  to discover something I had never seen before.

First, I saw the same bubble-like shapes as the pollen in the Forsythia. Then I moved and angled my Foldscope, I saw pink strands merging with the bubble-like shapes. I had never seen this before. So, I looked up what these”string-like” things m Iay be. I later found that these are cone shaped epidermal hairs that are called “trichomes”.  I  also learned that Trichomes serve a variety of functions, depending on their location. As root hairs (and as leaf hairs in epiphytes), trichomes absorb water and minerals. As leaf hairs, they reflect radiation, lower plant temperature, and reduce water loss. They also provide defense against insects. How cool is that!