MSGID: 1:317/3 62e42067   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    EPOD - a service of USRA   
      
   The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes   
   and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and   
   archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory   
   captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The   
   community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and   
   relevant links.   
      
      
    Mature Snapdragon Flowers Remain Closed   
      
      July 29, 2022   
      
       Menashe_snapdragon1a   
      
       Menashe_snapdragon2   
      
      Photographer:  Menashe Davidson   
      
      Summary Author: M enashe Davidson   
      
      The time of flower opening marks the onset of a period in which   
      pollinators are attracted by the flower sweetness, leading a  pollen   
      removal and pollination. In many species the flowers are open   
      permanently, whereby the opening period is terminated by a closure   
      movement, or by petal withering or abscission. But there are few   
      species, such as  snapdragons, where mature flowers stay closed.   
      
      Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus, family Plantaginaceae) have a wide   
      range of flower colors, and they’re easily grown in gardens. The   
      snapdragon flowers are closed flowers (top photo) with two modified   
      petals, described as lips, that essentially prevent honeybees from   
      penetrating them. Note, however, that the flowers can be opened when   
      they're pressed on their sides (bottom photo). Here we can see the   
      inside of the flower, where there are four  stamens with white   
      filaments surrounding a  pistil (green stalk).  Bumblebees, which   
      are much bigger than honeybees, are the main pollinators for   
      snapdragons because they’re larger size permits them to open the closed   
      flowers. Photos taken in March 2022, from my home garden in Rishon   
      LeZion, Israel.   
      
      
      Rishon LeZion, Israel Coordinates 31.9730, 34.7925   
      
      
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      Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the  Universities   
      Space Research Association.   
      
   https://epod.usra.edu   
       
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