Wow! What an amazing picture.
I've done some reading about the stigmatic fluid. I know Dan told me that if it dries and seals over it won't accept pollen and I've found that to be true. One some pistils where I've seen what looked like a dry end I've swiped pollen over the tip and it literally would not stick. One of the articles from AHS archives says that in very high heat the fluid will sometimes dry out or not be made. My experiences of hybridizing are in areas where summer temps. regularly reach the mid-90's and sometimes rise above 100. I think this may explain why I've seen "dry" tips and others haven't.
