Turn+Up+The+Basil


 * Species name: //Corymbia ficifolia// (pink hybrid)**

This species is fertilised primarily by insects (bees) and nectar-feeding birds such as the Little Wattlebird.



The flowers lack petals and instead are surrounded by an array of stamen. The red colour of the stamen acts to attract birds in conjunction with its sweet nectar.Flower clusters are dense and fully formed at final size. There is only one stigma present in the centre of the flower.

Floral morphology

The size of various flowers was measured using Vernier calipers.
 * Flower || Diameter of flower (mm) || Diameter of eye of flower (mm) || Depth of flowers (mm) ||
 * 1 || 45 || 19 || 9 ||
 * 2 || 44 || 18 || 10 ||
 * 3 || 51 || 20 || 9 ||
 * 4 || 46 || 19 || 9 ||
 * 5 || 44 || 19 || 10 ||
 * Average || 46 || 19 || 9.4 ||
 * SD || 2.9 || 0.7 || 0.5 ||

Pollen morphology

This species produces spherical pollen that is found in high abundance within the anthers. The number of grains could be counted by grinding the pollen to break up the protective shell and then observing the individual grains under the light microscope.



Nectar characterisation
 * Flower head || Refractometer- % sucrose content || Volume(µL) ||
 * 1 || 34.6 || 20 ||
 * 2 || 26.3 || 5 ||
 * 3 || 35.7 || 10 ||
 * 4 || 23 || 45 ||
 * 5 || 23.2 || 35 ||
 * Average || 28.56 || 23 ||
 * SD || 6.2 || 16.8 ||