Dissection And Discovery

Day 350: After a phenomenal 10-day blooming run, the points of Huernia zebrina's star-shaped inflorescence folded in on themselves, hiding the raised red "donut" in its center (refer to my September 15 post to see the open bloom). Now it was time for some science.

I've been curious about what purpose the "donut" might serve, so I removed it carefully from its point of attachment and made a transverse slice just above the sepals which also removed the reproductive structures. These were not examined. I then sectioned the "star," removing two of the points in order to have a clear view of the tissue of the "donut." I was somewhat surprised to find that it was simply thicker but otherwise appeared to be identical to the tissue of the points. Based on this discovery, I believe that the "donut" serves to restrict access to the reproductive structures to specific pollinators, i.e., those small enough to enter the chamber or those with long tongues (butterflies, bats, humingbirds). To date, I have not noticed any fragrance in the flowers which might draw nectar-feeders, but given the apparent limitations imposed by the "donut," I am inclined to believe that "Lifesaver Plant" is pollinated by nectar-feeding species.