How floral displays affect geitonogamy in an upward foraging bumblebee‐pollinated protandrous plant

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-188
Author(s):  
Xing‐Fu Zhu ◽  
Ji‐Qin Yang ◽  
Qing‐Jun Li
Keyword(s):  
Floral Displays

scholarly journals Pollination of two species of Vellozia (Velloziaceae) from high-altitude quartzitic grasslands, Brazil

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Maria Jacobi ◽  
Mário César Laboissiérè del Sarto
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Pollen Limitation ◽  
Cross Pollination ◽  
Se Brazil ◽  
Self Compatibility ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
Pollen Theft ◽  
Floral Displays ◽  
Facultative Xenogamy ◽  
And Control

The pollinators and breeding system of two species of Vellozia (Velloziaceae) from high-altitude quartzitic grasslands in SE Brazil were studied. Vellozia leptopetala is shrubby and grows solely on rocky outcrops, V. epidendroides is herbaceous and grows on stony soils. Both bear solitary, hermaphrodite flowers, and have massive, short-lasting annual blooms. We evaluated the level of self-compatibility and need for pollinators of 50 plants of each species and 20-60 flowers per treatment: hand self- and cross-pollination, spontaneous pollination, agamospermy and control. The behavior of floral visitors on flowers and within plants was recorded. Both species are mostly self-incompatible, but produce a small number of seeds by self-fertilization. The pollen-ovule ratio suggests facultative xenogamy. They were visited primarily by bees, of which the most important pollinators were two leaf-cutting bees (Megachile spp.). Vellozia leptopetala was also pollinated by a territorial hummingbird. Low natural seed production compared to cross-pollination seed numbers suggests that pollen limitation is the main cause of low seed set. This was attributed to the combined effect of five mechanisms: selfing prior to anthesis, enhanced geitonogamy as a result of large floral displays, low number of visits per flower for the same reason, pollen theft by many insect species, and, in V. leptopetala, delivery of mixed pollen loads on the stigma as a consequence of hummingbird promiscuity.

scholarly journals The white-topped pitcher plant—a case of precarious abundance

Oryx ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 201-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
George W. Folkerts
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Domestic Market ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Pitcher Plants ◽  
Pitcher Plant ◽  
Great Demand ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Floral Displays

White-topped pitcher plants, among the most attractive members of the genus Sarracenia, are in great demand for floral displays, in the USA and Europe. It is doubtful whether current levels of exploitation are sustainable; there is no way of controlling harvesting for the domestic market and the monitoring of exports is difficult. As well as this pressure, wild populations are perhaps in even greater danger from changes in land use.

Dragon Garden

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Nicolson
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Sustainable Construction ◽  
Garden Design ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Surrounding Landscape ◽  
Floral Displays

Case study 2: Dragon Garden is a designed cultural landscape that is still largely intact and serves as a valuable counterpoint to the loss of Tiger Balm Garden. The garden was owned and designed by Lee Iu-cheung, a philanthropic businessman who based the layout on fung shui principles as well as sustainable construction techniques which were advanced for their time. The garden was integrated sensitively into the surrounding landscape, incorporating stream courses and ornamental pools. It became known for its iconic dragon motifs, sculptures, seasonal floral displays, and being featured in the Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. Despite being sold to a developer, the garden was saved by the timely intervention by a descendent of the founder who recognised the heritage value of the site. Subsequent detailed study of the garden design has revealed subtle layers of meaning and symbolism that had previously been overlooked.

Recycling Tradition: Culture, History, and Political Economy in the Chrysanthemum Festivals of South China

1990 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 765-794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen F. Siu
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Political Economy ◽  
South China ◽  
Culture History ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Floral Displays ◽  
The Town

In the mid-nineteenth century, a gentleman in Xiaolan having the Mai surname wrote in his memoir:Age eighteen, the forty-seventh year of Qianlong's reign [1782], there was a chrysanthemum festival. Each major surname group put on floral displays, and six platforms were set up throughout the town. There were scores of theatrical troupes whose performance brought together kinsmen and friends. The tradition of the festival started that year.

scholarly journals Florida Foliage House Plant Care: Adenium obesum

EDIS ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Henny ◽  
Jianjun Chen
Keyword(s):  
High Light ◽  
Fact Sheet ◽  
Floral Displays

Adenium obesum and its many hybrids are often seen in retail garden centers. They have vibrant floral displays in shades of red, white, pink, and yellow. Flowers average 2–3 inches in diameter and may be single, double, or even triple. The plants must be stationed in high light, 6 hours or more per day, to maintain flowering during the summer. Adenium obesum makes a dramatic specimen for a deck or patio but should be moved indoors in winter. This 2-page fact sheet was written by R. J. Henny and J. Chen, and published by the UF Department of Environmental Horticulture, May 2013. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep474

scholarly journals Flower Color as Predictor for Nectar Reward Quantity in an Alpine Flower Community

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Streinzer ◽  
Johann Neumayer ◽  
Johannes Spaethe
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Content ◽  
Color Space ◽  
Flower Color ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Color Category ◽  
Flower Visitors ◽  
Floral Color ◽  
High Reward ◽  
Color Categories ◽  
Floral Displays

Entomophilous plants have evolved colorful floral displays to attract flower visitors to achieve pollination. Although many insects possess innate preferences for certain colors, the underlying proximate and ultimate causes for this behavior are still not well understood. It has been hypothesized that the floral rewards, e.g., sugar content, of plants belonging to a particular color category correlate with the preference of the flower visitors. However, this hypothesis has been tested only for a subset of plant communities worldwide. Bumble bees are the most important pollinators in alpine environments and show a strong innate preference for (bee) “UV-blue” and “blue” colors. We surveyed plants visited by bumble bees in the subalpine and alpine zones (>1,400 m a.s.l.) of the Austrian Alps and measured nectar reward and spectral reflectance of the flowers. We found that the majority of the 105 plant samples visited by bumble bees fall into the color categories “blue” and “blue-green” of a bee-specific color space. Our study shows that color category is only a weak indicator for nectar reward quantity; and due to the high reward variance within and between categories, we do not consider floral color as a reliable signal for bumble bees in the surveyed habitat. Nevertheless, since mean floral reward quantity differs between categories, naïve bumble bees may benefit from visiting flowers that fall into the innately preferred color category during their first foraging flights.

scholarly journals Bumblebees can detect floral humidity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. M. Harrap ◽  
Natalie Hempel de Ibarra ◽  
Henry D. Knowles ◽  
Heather M. Whitney ◽  
Sean A. Rands
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
Pollinator Behaviour ◽  
Biologically Relevant ◽  
Floral Displays ◽  
Artificial Flowers ◽  
Different Levels

Floral humidity, a region of elevated humidity in the headspace of the flower, occurs in many plant species and may add to their multimodal floral displays. So far, the ability to detect and respond to floral humidity cues has been only established for hawkmoths when they locate and extract nectar while hovering in front of some moth-pollinated flowers. To test whether floral humidity can be used by other more widespread generalist pollinators, we designed artificial flowers that presented biologically-relevant levels of humidity similar to those shown by flowering plants. Bumblebees showed a spontaneous preference for flowers which produced higher floral humidity. Furthermore, learning experiments showed that bumblebees are able to use differences in floral humidity to distinguish between rewarding and nonrewarding flowers. Our results indicate that bumblebees are sensitive to different levels of floral humidity. In this way floral humidity can add to the information provided by flowers and could impact pollinator behaviour more significantly than previously thought.

Beyond pollinator attraction: extra-floral displays deter herbivores in a Mediterranean annual plant

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 499-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoram Gerchman ◽  
Itay Dodek ◽  
Rinat Petichov ◽  
Yoram Yerushalmi ◽  
Amit Lerner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Annual Plant ◽  
Pollinator Attraction ◽  
Floral Displays

scholarly journals Receiver bias for exaggerated signals in honeybees and its implications for the evolution of floral displays

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 635-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhruba Naug ◽  
H.S Arathi
Keyword(s):  
Alien Plants ◽  
Mechanistic Models ◽  
Experimental Protocol ◽  
Colour Contrast ◽  
Floral Displays ◽  
Plant Pollinator ◽  
Signalling Systems ◽  
Receiver Bias

Mechanistic models of animal signals posit the occurrence of biases on the part of receivers that could be potentially exploited by signallers. Such biases are most obvious when animals are confronted with exaggerated versions of signals they normally encounter. Signalling systems operating in plant–pollinator interactions are among the most highly coevolved, with plants using a variety of floral signals to attract pollinators. A number of observations suggest that pollinators preferentially visit larger floral displays although the benefit of this to either the plant or the pollinator is not always clear. We use a standard dual-choice experimental protocol to show that honeybees display a receiver bias for exaggerated size and colour contrast—two important components of floral signals—even when such signals do not indicate quality. We discuss the implications of this receiver bias for the evolution of floral displays and its possible exploitation by invading alien plants.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document