happy+birthday+monique

Group members: Monique, Aimee, Jade, Revathy, Shanaz, Megan

Plant species: Callistemon eureka Family: Myteracae Habit: shurb, evergreen Rainfall: Tolerates dry soils between rainfall and occasional flooding Soil types: ordinary to enriched soil, mildly acidic to mildly alkaline Temperature range: can tolerate light frosts, hardy, adaptable, likes full sun

Reference: Plant this  Accessed: 19/10/12 Reference: Tube Stock  Accessed: 19/10/12

This species is native to Australia.



Floral morphology - individual flower (whole): - Individual flowers found on inflorescence with multiple other flowers - on this particular inflorescence there was 31 individual flowers - Individual flowers do not possess petals, only sepals preset arising from the base (petiole) of the flower - Multiple stamens (>10) on each individual flower - anther's partially open, they only need to be brushed to collect some pollen - Single stigma fairly high above anthers - we hypothesises that this is to prevent self pollination

Variability of floral morphology

Methods: - To measure the difference in morphology a calliper was used - To determine the distance between the stigma and style, the distance from the stigma to the highest anther was measured - To measure the style, it was removed, without breaking it, and it was measured - Measuring the filaments was done by removing them carefully - The sepals were measured whilst still on the flower - The flower's base was measured at its widest point

- Within the inflorescence, there was a large degree of variability - For example, on style was shrivelled and dried, causing it to sit lower than that of the anthers
 * Replicate || Distance between stigma and anthers(mm) || Length of style (mm) || Length of filament(mm) || Width of sepal(mm) || Width of flower base (mm) ||
 * 1 || 9 || 24 || 6 || 3 || 2 ||
 * 2 || 5 || 18.5 || 10 || 2.6 || 2.9 ||
 * 3 || 6 || 19.7 || 9.5 || 3.2 || 3.7 ||
 * 4 || 7.9 || 16.7 || 15.5 || 4 || 3 ||
 * 5 || 9.2 || 25.9 || 9 || 3.9 || 2.3 ||
 * 6 || -4 || 7 || 11 || 4 || 2 ||
 * 7 || 8.6 || 25 || 11.5 || 2.9 || 2.5 ||
 * 8 || 8.5 || 26 || 19.1 || 3 || 2.9 ||
 * 9 || 7.9 || 25.9 || 18.2 || 2.5 || 2.8 ||
 * 10 || 8 || 27 || 12 || 2.7 || 2.6 ||
 * Mean || 7.41 || 21.57 || 12.38 || 3.2 || 2.67 ||
 * St. Deviation || 3.95 || 6.26 || 4.59 || 0.58 || 0.51 ||

Nectar - 23 flowers were sampled - The sugar concentration in the nectar is very concentrated - a good reward for potential pollinators - Due to the small amount of nectar contained in each flower, it probably acts as a reward system for small insects, like bees
 * Replicate || Sugar content of extracted ||
 * 1 || 18.1 ||
 * 2 || 25.4 ||
 * Mean || 21.75 ||

Pollen morphology



- Pollen has triangular shape in 2D - Hypothesised that it is in fact tetrahedrally shaped - The anthers were partially open, so pollen collection was very easy - leads us to believe that this flower is pollinated by bees and other small insects