Friday08 November 2024
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A peculiar flower employs a catapult to eliminate rivals and spread its pollen (video).

Previously, scientists believed that this behavior was merely a method for spreading their pollen; however, a new study has uncovered something far more intriguing.
Уникальный цветок применяет катапульту, чтобы избавиться от соперников и распространять свою пыльцу (видео).

The Earth is home to an incredible number of plants, and for those that bloom, it is essential for their pollen to spread and reach another plant of the same species. Unfortunately, plants cannot physically move from place to place to mate with one another, so they rely on the wind and pollinators for this task, as noted by New Atlas.

Sometimes, pollinators like bees may arrive at a flower of one species (species A) covered in pollen from another species (species B). In this case, there is very little space left on the pollinator's body for pollen from species A. As a result, even if the bee later reaches another flower of species A, it is likely to primarily deposit the useless pollen from species B.

In a new study, scientists discovered that some plant species have developed a unique ability: the plant Hypenea macrantha can dislodge competing plant pollen from pollinators' bodies. This behavior ensures the species' survival.

Hypenea macrantha is known to be endemic to Brazil, and researchers previously found that it uses a catapult-like appendage to launch its pollen into the beaks of incoming hummingbirds. Earlier, scientists believed that this mechanism was focused solely on one goal: delivering a large amount of pollen into the bird's beak. However, in the new study, an international group of researchers found that this behavior seems to be something more.

Under the leadership of Professor Bruce Anderson from Stellenbosch University in South Africa and Professor Vinicius Brito from the Federal University of Uberlândia in Brazil, the researchers conducted a series of experiments.

растение пыльца, пыльца растений, пыльца растений эксперимент

During the study, they applied fluorescent pollen grains to the beak of a hummingbird skull and then counted the number of grains present. This beak was then inserted into a flower of Hypenea macrantha, which responded by shedding its own pollen onto the beak.

Afterward, the scientists recounted the pollen grains on the beak and discovered that the more grains of Hypenea macrantha were deposited by the flower, the fewer marked grains remained in place. The researchers believe that the explosive force of the flower's catapult serves not only to deposit its own pollen but also to remove competitors' pollen.

According to Anderson, when hummingbirds visit flowers, there is already too little space for pollen deposition. As a result, the plants have developed a catapult mechanism that allows them not only to fling their pollen into hummingbirds' beaks but also to eliminate competitors.