This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Wednesday, 19 May 2021
With the Delicate Tang of Urine
There are currently masses of Lords and ladies (Arum maculatum) along the roadsides in Loughor. There is a useful 'plantwatch' reminder of how these plants 'kidnap' flies to do their bidding (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/may/19/plantwatch-the-ingenious-fly-trap-hiding-in-britains-hedgerows). The plant's purple, finger-like spadix is cloaked by a green leaf-like spathe. The tiny male and female flowers are actually at the base of the spadix. When the time is ripe, the spadix heats up, releasing a smell like urine. This attracts tiny rot-loving flies who get trapped in the flower 'chamber' by a ring of downward-pointing hairs. When the female flowers are pollinated and the male flowers have released their pollen, these hairs wither. This releases the now pollen-covered flies to be attracted into and fertilise another Lords and ladies plant. And it's all vegan (no actual rotting meat is involved).
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