floral+quarrel

Group Members: Alice, Andrew, Melanie, Luke, Michael, Thanura

Plant Species: Anigozanthos flavidus Plant family:Haemodoraceae Common name:Kangaroo paw Distribution: Southwest Australia but now in NSW and USA Figure 1.: Close up of the bud Figure 2.: An uncoated flower Figure 3.: A coated flower The kangaroo paw "is found along roadsides, along creeks, and in forests and swamps, and other unshaded winterwet habitat." Source: Wikipedia, Habit: " It is a hardy plant, tolerant of a wide range of soil types and condition, that may live for around 30 years in a garden."

[] Inflorescence: " The flowers are crowded near the ends of a usually branched, erect inflorescence." [] Flowers: Flowers are frequently yellow and green, but may present in shades of red, pink, orange, or brown. Fruit: No fruit Seed: No seeds found. There was a lot of nectar, which suggested that the flower's had not yet been fertilised, as they would not expend energy in producing nectar if they had already been pollenated. Ovules: About 12 per flower (found within the chamber at the bottom of the flower)

"Pollen is distributed by birds as they plunge into the flowers to reach the nectaries. The shape of the flowers and the position of the pollen-bearing anthers is a feature which allows pollen to be deposited on the head of feeding birds. This pollen is transferred from flower to flower as the birds feed." source: __http://www.anbg.gov.au/anigozanthos/index.html__

Pictures:

Figures 3-6: Kangaroo Paw pollen at 10x,40x,80x


 * Flower number || Shape || Colour || Length (mm) || Width || Height || Tube || Tube length || Nectar volume mL || Sugar Brix % ||  ||
 * 1 || Petal encompasses the entire flower, coming up in a long tube, before seperating into half a dozen slits. There is one carpel and 6 stamens, with up to 12 ovules at the base of the flower, surrounded by nectar. || red, yellow and green || average ~45mm || 5mm around the bottom of the flower, and 2.9mm at the widest spread point. || 40, 41, 51, 50.5, 48.2, 46.6 ||  || 40, 41, 51, 50.5, 48.2, 46.6 || ranged between 1.5 and 35.4 uL || ~22% ||   ||