![]() ![]() Their flowers are “stamped from the same mold. Below are photos of two unrelated plants: native Rustweed ( Polypremum procumbens) and non-native Old World Diamond Flower ( Oldenlandia corymbosa). Skimpy man habitat, skimpy flowers, skimpy pollinators, perhaps.įloral resemblance among the species growing intermixed there can be striking. That harsh environment is probably not a place for plant species with big, showy, “expensive” flowers to support large insects demanding abundant rewards in nectar or pollen. Maybe that harsh habitat fosters tough little bees or mini-flies adapted to tiny white blossoms. All of the photos today are taken in one small flower patch at the same magnification except for the over-magnified Buttonweed whose flowers are essentially the same size as the others. “The same” road with essentially the same species runs behind my home, where almost all the flowers were about ¼ inch or less in diameter and white. ![]() This morning’s site, Haney Creek Natural Area in Jensen Beach, Florida, has a dry, sun-cooked, sterile, disturbed gravel road with a preponderance of very small white flowers. Phlox arrived in the UK as a garden plant from its native North America in the early 1800s and soon became a firm favourite for the summer herbaceous border. Different types of pollinators have different frequencies in different habitats, influencing the plant species composition, and thus perhaps trends in flower color and size.įurthermore, and only a notion, maybe there is positive feedback, say, for example, a happy place for bumblebees brings bumble-visited flowers, which then draw more bumblebees, and these in turn support more bumblebee-o-centric flowers. Where does imagination end and correlation begin?Ĭolor clustering might be conceivable if you look at it this way: pollination is essential for existence, so a plant is going to exist only where its proper pollinators are. Large white giant whitetops and large white alligator-lily grow together. Johnsworts, bright yellow coreopsis, bright yellow heleniums, bright yellow smallfruit beggarsticks, bright yellow ludwigias, and more, although not to the exclusion of other colors. Maybe that heat got to my head.Įver visit a natural place and perceive many unrelated flowers to look alike, especially in coloration? A wet meadow may feature bright yellow xyris, bright yellow St. A hunch rooted only shallowly in the botanical literature, so we’re in the realm of suspicion, not fact. (Not John, I was the wimp.) But not before a familiar observation: clustering of similar yet unrelated flowers in a specific habitat. For this reason, gardeners may wish to transplant their phlox to control its size or beautify another part of the yard with a particularly vivacious species. John and trekked out to where the wild things grow today, only to retreat beat by the heat. on Phlox is an attractive blooming perennial bush which has the potential to grow very large and populate a vast area of space. Rustweed ( Polypremum procumbens) Tetrachondraceae Old World Diamond Flower ( Oldenlandia corymbosa) Rubiaceae (Coffee Family) ![]()
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