Flower+Pop-+Bird+of+Paradise

BIRD OF PARADISE //Sterilitzia Reginae// __Pollination and Fertilisation__ For a mature seed to develop pollination must first occur, This is accomplished in the flower by attracting birds as the vector to carry pollen, birds come and sit on the spathe where they lean in to drink the nectar, the pollen capsules open and dust the animals. The animal then flys onto the next plant where the pollen can be deposited on the stigma. Plants are self incompatible with each other so there own pollen cannot be used to create a seed.



__Floral Morphology and Visitation__ The bright colours of the flower and the nectar are used to attract animals to the flower so pollination can occur. The flower although large can only support the weight of one bird at a time and so pollination is limited by this factor.

__Variability of Morphology__ Morphology varies very little within the flowers, with measurements being similar in most aspects. Petal Average Width: 35.2mm Petal Average Length: 102.6mm Ovules: 32.7mm Style: 120.5mm Anther: 39.8mm Filament 22.7mm Similarly as both male and female parts are present on the one plant, there is no variability of morphology between flowers either.

__Pollen Morphology__ Pollen is very small round particles, present in large amounts and is very sticky due to the nature of pollination.

__Nectar Morphology__ The nectar of the plant is not too sweet with only a 1.2% sugar content, however this can vary incredibly depending on flower age, location and between plants. Volumes are also quite variable between plants.

__Comparison with other species__

When the Bird of Paradise is compared to other species of flowers there can be seen to be a difference in floral morphology and reproductive processes. 1) The Azalea Flower has no nectar however it uses pollination to mature it's seeds. 2) The Crucifix Orchids also use pollination however it's done using insects compared to the Bird of Paradise that uses birds for pollination. The pollen is very small and in clusters which is a similarity with the pollen of the Bird of Paradise flower. 3) The Bottle Brush uses pollination most likely using birds and small mammals. The nectar has a much higher sugar content with 25% then compared to the Bird of Paradise which has a sugar content of 1.2%.