What characteristics of a flower aid in the process of pollination?

Question

What characteristics of a flower aid in the process of pollination?

Answer 1

its color and scent attract the bugs and birds which then get the pollen on their feet/bills/body and it pollinates to the next plant.

Answer 2

pollen

Answer 3

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollina...

Answer 4

Color, shape, scent, size, location of reproductive organs all play parts in determining how a flower signals and rewards the pollinators while blocking nectar or pollen robbers.

Color can do several things. It can offer high contrast markers on the petals to guide pollinators to the nectaries or it can differentiate the flower from the background foliage to signal the presence of mature flowers with nectar or pollen rewards.

Flowers develop pollination syndromes or a set of characteristics devoted towards a primary type of pollinator.

For example flowers that specialize in long tongued, hovering pollinators get humming birds, butterflies, moths and hover flies by having tubular flowers like fuchsia, foxglove or honeysuckle. Flowers can be very specific by opening pale extremely fragrant blossoms only at night for nocturnal moths.

Red & pink tubular flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Flowers may even close at night to conserve valuable volatile fragrances for when the these pollinators are active.   Bees with their short tongues fail to reach the nectar in these flowers.

Beetles and bees both eat pollen so some blossoms have developed fragrant pollen. These pollen eating insects are then attracted by pollen's scent. These flowers are often marked with large prominent anthers in a bright color.

http://www.jstor.org/pss/2446264

" odour ... was the primary and overriding cue used by bees to select pollen."

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob...

Bees see UV and the blues best so go first to those flowers while beetles visit large and strongly scented flowers like magnolia or spice bush with spicy scents and pale colors. Beetles can detect color but scent is more important.

Some flowers even show regional adaptations like the red corn poppy Papaver rhoeas. In its eastern Mediterranean range, it is pollinated by beetles and does not reflect in the UV, while growing in central and western Europe it reflects in the UV and is pollinated more by bees.

Flowers that usually self fertilize tend to be small, inconspicuous & unscented. They are white or green with little pollen since they are not offering a reward with it. They keep their anthers very close th their stigmas so the pollen transfers easily.