How are pollinators guided by colourful floral structures? A commentary on: ‘The role of pollinator preference in the maintenance of pollen colour variation’
Hempel de Ibarra, N; Somanathan, H
Date: 8 May 2019
Article
Journal
Annals of Botany
Publisher
Oxford University Press/ Annals of Botany Company
Publisher DOI
Abstract
The diversity of colourful patterns and structures of flowers has attracted the attention of human observers for many centuries. In the 18th century, the German naturalist Christian Konrad Sprengel noted that they might serve to secure visits from insects in order to transfer pollen between plants. Since then, most attempts to classify ...
The diversity of colourful patterns and structures of flowers has attracted the attention of human observers for many centuries. In the 18th century, the German naturalist Christian Konrad Sprengel noted that they might serve to secure visits from insects in order to transfer pollen between plants. Since then, most attempts to classify interactions between insects and flowers have focused on striking and obvious features, such as the form and colour of petals and floral odours. However, floral traits that are less perceptible to humans have also been shown to influence the behaviour of pollinating insects. These include small colourful structures such as pollen on stamens, as reported by Ison and colleagues (2019) in the current issue.
Psychology - old structure
Collections of Former Colleges
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