Natural Pollination of the Genus Narcissus

Travis O enoster@hotmail.com
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 10:01:16 PST
Hi all,

Last year I wrote a brief article on the pollination of Narcissus in The Bulb Garden (Spring 2015). I was displeased with what I wrote due to a handful of minor flaws that I hope nobody caught, such as the misspelling of a species and some poor (and boring) prose. So, I rewrote the article with a year of additional writing experience under my belt.

Narcissus has a fascinating connection to the various pollinators that the different species attract. While reading up on the subject a few years ago I realized there was a correlation of results between unrelated studies (and theories) of the pollination strategy of various species of Narcissus. While the subject is quite understudied compared to the number of species (perhaps 20 species have been studied in relation to pollination ecology), some patterns have emerged. There are mainly two groups of Narcissus based on pollinator type: Bee and Lepidoptera (moth/butterfly) pollinated. A third group can be assumed if variable pollination syndromes and flower dimorphism are  considered, which is the case with N. tazetta (some wild populations bee pollinated, others moth/butterfly pollinated).

Here's the article, I could have gone into more depth, but maybe I'll save that for next year:

http://amateuranthecologist.com/2016/03/…

Or this:

http://goo.gl/CkzIzG/

I'd be happy to hear any feedback, including discrepancies, concerns, or compliments! Or any questions, not that I'm an expert (I'm not). I am, however, a father of two (used to be one!) as of last week, so understandably occupied.

Travis Owen
Rogue River, OR

http://www.amateuranthecologist.com/
http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/




More information about the pbs mailing list