Erysimum baeticum | |
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Erysimum baeticum subsp. baeticum | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Brassicales |
Family: | Brassicaceae |
Genus: | Erysimum |
Species: | E. baeticum |
Binomial name | |
Erysimum baeticum (Heyw.) A.Polatschek, 1979 | |
Erysimum baeticum is an annual to perennial herb endemic to some mountains in the SE of Spain. This species has two subspecies: Erysimum baeticum bastetanum is found only in the Sierra de Baza (Granada province), inhabiting the subalpine pine forests, from 1500 to 2000 m. a.s.l.. Erysimum baeticum baeticum is a subspecies endemic to the eastern range of the Sierra Nevada (Almería province), inhabiting subalpine shrublands. Both subspecies flower during late May thru early July, displaying up to one hundred showy purple flowers arranged in several short stalks.
Plants germinates during early spring (March to early May), and usually grow for 2–3 years as vegetative rosettes. Much mortality occurs at this stage due to summer drought. Surviving individuals flower during their second year. Erysimum baeticum bastetanum is monocarpic, most individuals dying after flowering. Erysimum baeticum baeticum is mostly polycarpic, since an important proportion of individuals reproduce more than once.
Reproductive plants produce one to eight reproductive stalks. Each flowering stalk can display between 5 and more than one hundred bright purple, hermaphroditic, slightly protandrous flowers arranged in corimbous inflorescences. Flowering stalks are tall (circa 1 m tall) in E. baeticum bastetatum, and very short (around 20 cm tall) in Erysimum baeticum baeticum. Flowers produce minute amount of nectar in four nectaries. Flower shape is extremely variable, ranging from radially to bilaterally symmetric even in the same population.
Information of pollination biology exists only for Erysimum baeticum baeticum. Flowers are visited by over 50 species of insects belonging to the order Hymenoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Heteroptera. Abundant pollinators are the beetles Meligethes maurus (Nitidulidae), Dasytes subaeneus (Dasytinae), and Malachius laticollis (Malachiinae), the solitary bees Anthophora leucophaea (Apidae) and Colletes sp (Colletidae), and the ants Proformica longiseta, Lasius niger and Cataglyphis velox (Formicidae). However, ants can act both as true pollinators and as nectar robbers.
In southeastern Spain, reproductive individuals are consumed by many different species of herbivores, although more information is required. Some floral buds do not open because they are galled by flies (Dasineura sp., Cecidomyiidae). Several species of sap-suckers (primarily the bugs Eurydema oleracea, E. fieberi, E. ornata, and Corimeris denticulatus) feed on the reproductive stalks during flowering and fruiting. In addition, stalks are bored into by a weevil species (presumably Lixus ochraceus, Curculionidae), which consumes the inner tissues, whereas another weevil species ( presumably Ceutorhynchus, Curculionidae) develops inside the fruits, living on developing seeds and acting as predispersal seed predators. The stalks are browsed by Spanish ibex ( Capra pyrenaica , Bovidae), which consume flowers and mostly green fruits. Dispersed seeds are consumed by woodmice ( Apodemus sylvaticus , Muridae), several species of birds ( Fringilla coelebs , Serinus serinus , and Carduelis cannabina Fringillidae, among others), several species of medium-sized granivorous beetles ( Iberozabrus sp. Carabidae, among others), and ants ( Lasius niger , Tetramorium caespitum, Cataglyphis velox and Leptothorax tristis). These animals feed on the seeds from late August to early April. Seedlings and juveniles are sometime injured by ibex, sheep, wild boars ( Sus scrofa , Suidae), hares ( Lepus granatense, Leporidae), and voles ( Pitimys spp., Arvicolidae), although most seedlings die due to summer drought and seed quality.
Erysimum, or wallflower, is a genus of flowering plants in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. It includes more than 150 species, both popular garden plants and many wild forms. The genus Cheiranthus is sometimes included here in whole or in part. Erysimum has since the early 21st century been ascribed to a monogeneric cruciferous tribe, Erysimeae, characterised by sessile, stellate (star-shaped) and/or malpighiaceous (two-sided) trichomes, yellow to orange flowers and multiseeded siliques.
Primula vulgaris, the common primrose, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to Eurasia. The common name is primrose, or occasionally common primrose or English primrose to distinguish it from other Primula species referred to as primroses.
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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 leading to rewards of pollen and nectar; they may also have an attractive scent which in some cases mimics insect pheromones. Insect pollinators such as bees have adaptations for their role, such as lapping or sucking mouthparts to take in nectar, and in some species also pollen baskets on their hind legs. This required the coevolution of insects and flowering plants in the development of pollination behaviour by the insects and pollination mechanisms by the flowers, benefiting both groups. Both the size and the density of a population are known to affect pollination and subsequent reproductive performance.
Chamaerops is a genus of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae. It contains only one species, Chamaerops humilis, variously called European fan palm or the Mediterranean dwarf palm. It is one of the most cold-hardy palms and is used in landscaping in temperate climates.
A flower, also known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants. Flowers consist of a combination of vegetative organs – sepals that enclose and protect the developing flower, petals that attract pollinators, and reproductive organs that produce gametophytes, which in flowering plants produce gametes. The male gametophytes, which produce sperm, are enclosed within pollen grains produced in the anthers. The female gametophytes are contained within the ovules produced in the carpels.
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In zoology, a palynivore /pəˈlɪnəvɔːɹ/, meaning "pollen eater" is an herbivorous animal which selectively eats the nutrient-rich pollen produced by angiosperms and gymnosperms. Most true palynivores are insects or mites. The category in its strictest application includes most bees, and a few kinds of wasps, as pollen is often the only solid food consumed by all life stages in these insects. However, the category can be extended to include more diverse species. For example, palynivorous mites and thrips typically feed on the liquid content of the pollen grains without actually consuming the exine, or the solid portion of the grain. Additionally, the list is expanded greatly if one takes into consideration species where either the larval or adult stage feeds on pollen, but not both. There are other wasps which are in this category, as well as many beetles, flies, butterflies, and moths. One such example of a bee species that only consumes pollen in its larval stage is the Apis mellifera carnica. There is a vast array of insects that will feed opportunistically on pollen, as will various birds, orb-weaving spiders and other nectarivores.
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Pollinator-mediated selection is an evolutionary process occurring in flowering plants, in which the foraging behavior of pollinators differentially selects for certain floral traits. Flowering plant are a diverse group of plants that produce seeds. Their seeds differ from those of gymnosperms in that they are enclosed within a fruit. These plants display a wide range of diversity when it comes to the phenotypic characteristics of their flowers, which attracts a variety of pollinators that participate in biotic interactions with the plant. Since many plants rely on pollen vectors, their interactions with them influence floral traits and also favor efficiency since many vectors are searching for floral rewards like pollen and nectar. Examples of pollinator-mediated selected traits could be those involving the size, shape, color and odor of flowers, corolla tube length and width, size of inflorescence, floral rewards and amount, nectar guides, and phenology. Since these types of traits are likely to be involved in attracting pollinators, they may very well be the result of selection by the pollinators themselves.
This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations .(June 2010) |