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Plants fall into pollination syndromes that reflect the type of pollinator being attracted. These are characteristics such as: overall flower size, the depth and width of the corolla, the color (including patterns called nectar guides that are visible only in ultraviolet light), the scent, amount of nectar, composition of nectar, etc. [2] For example, birds visit red flowers with long, narrow ...
[31] [34] [36] [37] As of 1997 studies have documented non-flying mammal pollination involving at least 59 species of mammal distributed among 19 families and six orders. As of 1997, there were 85 species of plants from 43 genera and 19 families which were visited by these mammals. In many cases, a plant species is visited by a range of mammals.
However, further work is still needed to find out whether the potential damage to flowers caused by non-flying mammals nectar-feeding outweighs the pollination benefits they provide to the plants.
Pollination is necessary for plants to continue their populations and 3/4 of the plant species that contribute to the world's food supply are plants that require pollinators. [78] Insect pollinators, like bees, are large contributors to crop production, over 200 billion dollars worth of crop species are pollinated by these insects. [71]
The characteristics of the pollination syndrome associated with pollination by mammals which are not bats are: a yeasty odour; cryptic, drab, axillary, geoflorous flowers or inflorescences often obscured from sight; large and sturdy flowers, or grouped together as multi-flowered inflorescences; either sessile flowers or inflorescences or ...
The honey possum or noolbenger (Tarsipes rostratus), is a tiny species of marsupial that feeds on the nectar and pollen of a diverse range of flowering plants. Found only in southwest Australia, it is an important pollinator for such plants as Banksia attenuata, Banksia coccinea and Adenanthos cuneatus. [3]
Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertise themselves with bright colours, sometimes with conspicuous patterns (honey guides) leading to rewards of pollen and nectar ; they may also ...
Of the dozen or more species of rodent-pollinated proteas, P. recondita is the only species with non-geoflorous flower heads -instead bearing them above it in the air at the end of the erect branches, to have evolved such a system of enfolding leaves, which make the flower head 'cryptic'. This indicates it evolved non-flying mammal pollination ...