Bitter-tasting nectar and floral odors optimize outcrossing for plants
Friday, August 29, 2008 - 12:28
in Biology & Nature
Animals "personally" bring their gametes together – seeking out sexual partners, mating, fertilizing, and reproducing. Plants, however, are sessile organisms and require the help of a third party, the pollinator, which can be a bird, mouse or insect that transport pollen to receptive stigmas frequently over large distances. The colors and shapes of flowers as well as their volatile signals and nectar attract and reward the pollinators for their efforts. But not all flower visitors are pollinators, as many come only to steal nectar without transporting pollen or eat flower parts.