Have two questions about this plant. What causes the short bloom stalks? Flowers cannot open for the plants own spine's.
Am I correct in thinking this is a Mammillaria?
Defective_flowers by billykain, on FlickrShort-flower-stem by billykain, on Flickr
TIA,
John
Short flower stems
Short flower stems
I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
- greenknight
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Re: Short flower stems
What causes that? Just variability in spination, and some mammillarias having very short flowers. Yes, it's a Mammillaria, maybe bocensis.
Spence
Re: Short flower stems
Thank you. I Suppose it must work for this plant, but doesn't seem like the best strategy for attracting pollinators. It makes lots of seed pods so I guess a fully opened flower is not necessary.
John
John
I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
- greenknight
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Re: Short flower stems
Probably self-pollinates; many of them do.
You should post on the identification forum, try to get a more definite ID.
You should post on the identification forum, try to get a more definite ID.
Spence
Re: Short flower stems
The species wouldn't have survived if what it is doing is detrimental to producing seed. I think that opening is plenty big for smaller pollinators. Remember that honeybees are an introduction from Europe, so don't think of them when you are thinking about natural pollination. They didn't exist in the Americas prior to Europeans. Many of the natural pollinators of plants are half that size or less.sluefoot wrote:Thank you. I Suppose it must work for this plant, but doesn't seem like the best strategy for attracting pollinators. It makes lots of seed pods so I guess a fully opened flower is not necessary.
John
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- CactusFanDan
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Re: Short flower stems
The flowers aren't defective. Even outside the natural range there are lots of pollinators which are small enough to pollinate flowers like these, usually small flying things.
Re: Short flower stems
Thanks to all for your help. Things are busy for me right now so I am taking pictures of the different plant parts for later study. This is a little bit harder than I thought it would be. I do appreciate your time and help. Thank you.
John
John
I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.