Understand what pollinating agents are and know the characteristics of the flowers they pollinate.
The pollination is pollen from male plant transport region to the female part. This process ensures that the plant can reproduce and is therefore essential for the perpetuation of these species.
Pollination can occur in two ways:
- Crusade:happens when the pollen of the flower is placed on a flower of another individual of the same species.
- Self-pollination: ithappens when the pollen is removed from the male part and is directed to the female part of the same flower. In this case, we have plants with hermaphrodite flowers .
→ Pollinating agents
Plants are living organisms that do not move and, therefore, their reproduction is not always easy. Some species perform self-pollination, causing the pollen to reach the female part of the plant. In most species, however, for pollination to occur, it is necessary that some external agents guarantee the transport of pollen.
Among the main pollinating agents, we can mention:
- Wind:Pollination by wind is called anemophilia . This type of pollination is common in pines, corn, wheat and rice. As they do not need to attract pollinators, the flowers do not have nectar, have a low color and have no smell.
- Animals:Pollination by animals is called zoophilia . Among the main pollinators, we can mention birds, bats , man and insects. Plants that depend on living beings for pollination to happen have important adaptations , such as pleasant odor, bright and brightly colored petals and a large amount of nectar.
⇒ Insects: Pollination specifically carried out by insects is called entomophilia. Among all the pollinating insects, the bee stands out. The bee is believed to be responsible for pollinating 73% of the world’s cultivated species. Passion fruit is an example of a plant pollinated by bees.
Birds look for brightly colored flowers and nectar
⇒ Birds: Pollination by birds is called ornithophilia. Usually pollinated flowers by these animals have a large amount of nectar and petals with bright colors, such as yellow and red.
⇒ Bat: Pollination by bats is called chiropterophilia . In this case, it is common for the flowers to have a large amount of nectar and for the color to be less showy. They usually have strong smells and open at night.
- Water:Pollination by water is called It happens mainly in aquatic plants.
The mentioned agents can be divided into two groups: abiotic and biotic. Abiotic factors are those that are lifeless, such as wind and water. Biotic factors are living agents, such as insects, birds and mammals.
