Dandelion, UV difference image showing fluorescent emission (green-yellow)

This shows the difference between two images of a dandelion taken with a full-spectrum camera within the space of a few minutes. Both images are taken with pure UV (370nm LED) illumination but one of them uses a Kolari UV filter which restricts the camera to seeing only the UV light.

The unfiltered images allows both the UV reflectance and any induced fluorescence to be recorded. The images have been carefully aligned in the centre but the outer petals have moved slightly between images (the flower is alive!). To first order, the yellow and green indicate fluorescence while the pink and blue represent relative motions.

This experiment was carried out to find a way of distinguishing between reflected and fluorescent light when taking UV images of flowers.

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