Flower pistil surface. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the surface of a pistil, the female reproductive part of a plant. The pistil is part of the flower. The projections seen here are where the pollen lands during pollination. Pollen contains the male sex cells, which combine with the female sex cells (contained in a part of the pistil called the ovary) to form the seed of a new plant. This is a pistil from a chameleon plant flower (Houttuynia cordata).