- Kathleen Scavone
- Posted On
The Living Landscape: Pollination ecology
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Like so many others sheltering at home lately, I find myself looking more closely at flowering plants whether they grow in the garden or are found in the wild.
Each flower is like a cup of light, illuminating miniature worlds occurring on the asterisks of honeysuckle or within the nectary of a bright blue Ithuriel's spear inflorescence.
I've been taking a number of classes online, via Zoom, such as the free webinars offered by Sonoma State University's Center for Environmental Inquiry, California Native Plant Society and also by Pepperwood Preserve, etc.
In the webinar, "A Match Made in Evolution: Plants and Pollinators" presented by professional botanist and instructor of botany at Santa Rosa Junior College and Napa Valley College, Caprice Disbrow discussed the diversity and evolution of California native plants.
The up-close-and-personal relationships between flowering plants and their pollinators happen all around us during this time of profuse flowering, and presents a free show entailing both active and passive pollination.
Then, as Darwin outlined in his publications, the special coevolution between flowering plants and pollinators continues with the transfer of pollen grains from an anther to the stigma of each flower.
We all know that the great Central Valley is the fruit basket of the country, and without plant pollination, a significant portion of which occurs by honey bees, we would not eat as well as we do.
Our own gardens' zucchinis, tomatoes and peppers profit from the most critical events of their flowering lives with the help of a variety of native bees, honey bees, butterflies, wasps, beetles and birds' assistance.
Moths and bats also get in on the action of pollination, but they visit during the night hours when they scope out flowers that contain long corolla tubes and are, usually, white in color.
Mother nature did not waste energy providing night-blooming flowers with color, however, when they open during the night their scents attract many pollinators.
The California native soap plant is one such plant. Although plenty of passive pollination in plants occurs via wind or water, over time plants evolved from simple structures to those that encouraged pollination by insects. The pollen transfers in those cases proved to be more efficient and less pollen was needed.
Several differing methods of pollination evolved over time with generalist pollinator plants developing which encouraged a variety of insects to visit such as the aforementioned bees, butterflies, wasps, beetles, etc.
The generalist pollinators developed strategies for proliferating with colorations such as yellow, white, green-tinted and scented flowers.
Along with generalist pollinators there are those that specialize in order to invite hummingbirds and other visitors to sip their nectar and which, while the bird is imbibing on a treat, they also provide a pollen transfer service.
Now botanists know that bees can see ultraviolet along with yellow and blue pigments, and butterflies are also endowed with photoreceptors that allow them to see in ultraviolet.
This specialized behavior encouraged floral traits to occur over time as they were driven by natural selection between pollinator and plant.
To encourage native pollinators, Bay Nature Magazine recommends planting a garden incorporating wildflowers that are native to our area.
It's important to select flowers with differing sizes and shapes and those with staggered bloom times. Bees are especially attracted to the colors yellow, white, blue and purple.
You may want to think of leaving a portion of the garden bare to encourage beneficial ground-nesting bees, and of course, steer clear of pesticides and herbicides.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, freelance writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.”