We’re all about the cross-pollination of ideas and disciplines, and nowhere does it get more literal or more stunningly embodied than in Pollen: The Hidden Sexuality of Flowers — an extraordinary project by visual artist Rob Kesseler, who collaborated with two leading botanical biologists to document the otherworldly beauty of the building block of plant life. Using bleeding-edge electron photomicroscopy to scan these tiny microgametophytes of seed plants, Kesseler awakens a special kind of awe for the incredible diversity and miracle of plant pollination.

Pollen is like a 21st-century version of Ernst Haeckel’s remarkable illustrations from the early 1900s, a gorgeously gripping reflection of the amazing world we live in and a subtle but palpable living reminder to cherish, honor and preserve the planet’s precious biodiversity.

Images from Pollen: The Hidden Sexuality of Flowers, by Rob Kesseler and Madeline, published by Papadakis Publisher