Saturday, April 24, 2021

Texas Gold Columbine - Nature Journal


Columbines and I have a spotted history.  I have tried to grow this beautiful  spring-flowering plant many times, and have killed it just as many times. 😢. 

Last year, I planted three healthy young gallon-sized plants.  One didn't make it through the summer, and a second didn't make it through the deep freeze.  Leaving just one lone Columbine.  

So, it was with some trepidation that I selected this plant for my nature journal, knowing full well it is unlikely to be with me for another year.


But, such a gorgeous, random flower!  In full bloom, it reminds me of a cartoon starship, and with its flowers closed it reminds me of a missile.

In studying the Texas Columbine, which is in bloom this week, I realized something new...  each of the long spikes (which I have since learned are called nectar spurs), are actually very long tubes.  

As I watched, a small green bug crawled inside the nectar spur, aiming for the nectar at its very back.

It turns out that these long spurs are designed for pollinators with long tongues, such as hummingbirds and hawk moths, that can reach the nectar.

Curious, I went online to learn more. As far back as the 1850s, Darwin noticed these unusual nectar spurs and hypothesized that the length of the nectar spur and the

pollinators that consumed the nectar was a co-evolutionary relationship. He believed natural selection allowed the properly matching pollinators and flowers to dominate.  

However, in 2007, researchers at the University of California discovered that the relationship is more one-sided.  Columbines adapt the length of their nectar spur to the length of the pollinator tongue that is prevalent in the area!  Super cool!!😲😎

Another interested researcher noticed that the pedicel (the part that holds the flower to the stem) was not rigid, causing the flower to droop downward. However hummingbirds tend to like more upright flowers, and when they feed on the columbine, they have to essentially push the flower up with their beak.  In further study, comparing columbine flowers that were wired to be unable to lift up versus the natural columbine, they found that the process of the hummingbird lifting up the flower resulted in 30% better seed setting.  

I love learning more about the amazing flowers around us, and the intricacies that surround their shape!













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