“ADVERTISING” EFFECT OF REPRESENTATIVE ELEMENTS ON FLORAL VISITORS IN FLOWER DESIGN OF PASSIFLORA EDULIS L.

Floral organs of yellow passion fruit were chosen as experimental materials; flower shape, corolla colour, nectar ingredients and nectar content of yellow passion fruit were investigated.
The research results indicated that passion fruit is creative in flower design.
Appropriate arrangement of various representative elements – flower morphology, flower colour, nectar-create an excellent self-endorsing “advertisement” that can attract bees effectively.
The petals of yellow passion fruit are purplish-green and its petals are blue, white, and purple filamentous external paracorollas interweave in a broad “three-colour zebra crossing”. Thus, bees flying above can easily find the target even if they are some distance away from the flowers.
The nectary ring formed by the internal paracorolla is the “visual guide line” for the “advertisement”. It facilitates bees finding the entrance to nectarothecas containing abundant honey liquid.
The main component of the honey is glucose, with content about 8%. The glucose compensates bees’ energy consumption during the floral visit.
The liquid honey output is probably another factor in attracting a second floral visit from bees.

VI International Symposium on the Taxonomy of Cultivated Plants

X.P. Lu, S.Q. Yan, X.H. Zhou, L.Z. Wei, D. Yue

Passiflora edulis L., flower shape, flower colour, nectar, representative elements

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2014.1035.15