7th Grade Flowers
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7th Grade Flowers |
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The plant that I chose was the Dead Horse Arum, a not too distant relative of the massive Titan Arum. The scientific name for the large Arum family is Araceae. The Dead Horse Arum can be found on the cliffs of Corsica and Sardinia which are located in the Mediterranean. To be more specific, they are located near seagull colonies, for there are many blowflies (the Dead Horse Arum's pollinator) in that area. Blowflies are attracted by the Dead Horse Arum because it resembles and smells like a dead seagulls corpse, which flies love to find. The flies enter the plant through the spathe (a cup-like structure) and then continue down past the spadix which carries both the male and female flowers. While the fly searches for flesh, it receives pollen from the female flowers. It can take up to several days for the flies to find the exit because for one, they don't fly during the night and second the exit is located at an odd area. Eventually the fly leaves and transfers the pollen onto another Dead Horse Arum.The plant has continued to lure flies in with its appearance and scent, along with the fly who has learned over time to stay the same area which helps the flowers pollinate.