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Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Plant Biodiversity Conservatory and Research Core

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SPECIAL COLLECTION:
Bee Pollination (melittophily)

Bee-pollinated flowers tend to fall into two classes:
  • Showy, open, bowl-shaped flowers that are relatively unspecialized (e.g. wild roses, sunflowers)
  • Showy, complicated, non-radially symmetric flowers that are more specialized (e.g. peas, foxgloves)
Some bee flowers tend to be yellow or blue, often with ultraviolet nectar guides and scent. Nectar, pollen, or both are offered as rewards in varying amounts. The sugar in the nectar tends to be sucrose-dominated.

There are diverse types of bees, however. Honeybees, bumblebees, orchid bees, etc are large groups that are quite distinctive in size, tongue length and behaviour (some solitary, some colonial). Thus generalization about bees is difficult. Some plants can only be pollinated by bees because their anthers release pollen internally, and it must be shaken out by buzz pollination. Bees are the only animals that perform this behavior.

Greenhouse Locator Map:

data regenerated on Fri, 09 May 2025 02:13:34 -0400

15 Accessions:

Adenocalymma comosum Allamanda cathartica Cola acuminata Combretum molle Dalechampia spathulata Guaiacum sanctum Lampranthus haworthii Mammillaria bombycina Rosmarinus officinalis Syzygium jambos

Number in parentheses references locator map icons

  • {1} Combretum molle - Velvet Bush Willow - Combretaceae
  • {2} Acridocarpus natalitius - Moth Fruit - Malpighiaceae
  • {3} Cola acuminata - Cola Nut - Malvaceae
  • {3} Marantochloa leucantha - Yoruba Soft Cane - Marantaceae
  • {4} Syzygium jambos - Rose Apple - Myrtaceae
  • {5} Allamanda cathartica - Golden Trumpet - Apocynaceae
  • {6} Guaiacum sanctum - Lignum Vitae - Zygophyllaceae
  • {7} Dalechampia spathulata - Winged Beauty Shrub - Euphorbiaceae
  • {8} Adenocalymma comosum - Yellow Trumpet Vine - Bignoniaceae
  • {9} Bignonia magnifica - Bignoniaceae
  • {10} Coccoloba uvifera - Sea Grape, Kino, Platterleaf - Polygonaceae
  • {11} Rosmarinus officinalis - Rosemary - Lamiaceae
  • {12} Lampranthus haworthii - purple vygie, ice plant - Aizoaceae
  • {13} Mammillaria bombycina - Silken Pincushion - Cactaceae
  • {14} Sarracenia flava var. flava - Yellow Pitcher Plant, Huntsman's Horn - Sarraceniaceae W/C
  • WISHLIST ITEM: Coryanthes speciosa - Bucket Orchid - Orchidaceae

W/C = Wild Collected
= Currently Flowering
= Image(s) Available
= map available for this accession
= voucher(s) on file at CONN for this accession
= accession added within past 90 days
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