Examples for botany class

seed dispersal: wind. These South African flowers are pollinated by sphinx moths. When the fruit mature, the seedpods are winged. The entire globose head of dry fruits pops off the flowering stalk and is blown across the ground like a tumbleweed, dispersing the seeds.

. These orchids make little nectar to reward their pollinators. They are mostly pollinated by female hoverflies looking for aphid colonies to lay eggs around. The orchids produce a scent that mimics the alarm pheromones of aphids, duping the mother fly into visiting the flowers.

. The genus name of this orchid may evoke images of vampires, but its flowers look like little monkey faces. Though humans may see these flowers and think monkeys, the "lip" of many Dracula flowers also looks like an overturned mushroom cap, and that's what fungus-eating flies see when they approach these flowers. The flies are looking for tasty fungi to lay eggs on, but the orchids are angling for pollination.

Carnivorous plants. Most people imagine pitcher plants or flytraps when they think about carnivorous plants, but here's something different. This is a carnivorous relative of the pineapple and of Spanish "moss" (all are bromeliads).

Economic botany: Quercus (cork).

Fungi: ascomycota.

Parasitic plants. Who says parasites can't be showy? Cytinus plants may not be able to photosynthesize, but they sure can bloom. Their flowers are about the only organs they have left, since they don't need leaves for photosynthesis and thus don't really even need above-ground shoots (except when it's time to get some flowers pollinated).

. Strange, fuzzy, Australian mints. The inflorescences of L. verbascifolia are particularly weird looking.

. This is a nice example of a Passiflora species with egg-mimic nectaries (the yellow spots) on the leaf blade. These protect the plant in two ways. They are similar in color to the eggs of the Passiflora-munching butterfly Heliconius, which will avoid laying eggs in places where there are already lots of other butterfly eggs (too much competition). These nectaries also secrete sugar, attracting ants which will also eat insect eggs or young caterpillars that happen to be around.

Fungi: ascomycota.