Plants that are pollinated bloom in early spring. Plants are wind pollinated. Modest spring flowers. insects and pollination

Introduction.

Spring, especially April and the first half of May, is a very suitable time for ecological studies of plants. During this period, transitional from winter to summer, you can see a wide variety of natural phenomena, moreover, in central Russia, where we live, all processes are so fast that many of them can be traced in development, and sometimes even from the beginning. to end.
In spring, the ecological diversity of communities is extremely fully revealed, and some groups of organisms can only be observed in spring time, for example, ephemeroids. And the conditions for research are favorable - at this time, as a rule, the weather is dry and warm.
Scientists distinguish several groups of plants blooming in spring: (Biology at school No. 2, 1998 // Primroses: a research project for schoolchildren, p. 67)
1) Early spring plants that develop and bloom in early spring, shortly after the snow melts or even at the same time, long before the leaves bloom in tree and shrub species and most herbaceous plants, calendar - April and the first half of May (corydalis, goose onion, anemone, violets) .
2) Spring plants that give flowers after the first group or at the time of their flowering, calendar - in the second half of May (sour, crow's eye, Peter's cross).
3) Late-spring plants blooming already in the beginning and second decade of June (fragrant woodruff, two-leaved wild rose, wild rose, honeysuckle, etc.) This paper presents the results of studying the first group of plants, i.e. early spring plants.

Objective: study of early spring flowering plants and their ecological groups.

Tasks:

• identify species of early spring plants;
• determine the frequency of their occurrence;
• make a herbarium;
• give a biological description of the species;
• establish ecological groups of early spring flowering plants;
• identify plant species in need of protection;
• formulate recommendations for the rational use and protection of early spring plants.

The study was conducted 2 kilometers east of the village of Kazachy, Prokhorovsky district, from April 1 to May 10.

Research methodology

The study of the territory for the detection of early spring flowering plants was carried out by the route method. The routes covered the eastern territory of the vicinity of the village and all the main habitats: forest edges, glades, meadows, ditches along the roads, wastelands. The research was carried out in the period from April 1 to May 10, access to the route was carried out twice a week.
In the process of work on the route, the frequency of occurrence of these plants was recorded, the records were kept by eye, all plant species were divided into three groups: they are common and abundant, they are moderately frequent and rare.
Also, along the route, the habitats of plants and their need for certain environmental factors were noted, for the subsequent determination of ecological groups.
Herbarium materials were collected. Herbaceous plants were collected without underground organs (except for those where it was necessary to identify the species, such as Corydalis).
A plan of the surveyed area was drawn up, it shows the habitats of the species. Each species is given a brief description, photographs are taken. The results are presented in the form of herbariums and tables.

General characteristics of early spring plants.

Plants need sunlight to function properly. It is in the light that photosynthesis processes take place, when organic substances are formed from inorganic substances, which are then used by plants for their development.
In the April forest, the trees and shrubs are not yet covered with foliage, nothing prevents the sunlight from penetrating to the very ground. This is the main reason that many plant species in the process of evolution “choose” early spring for their development.
In addition, the earth after the snow melts is saturated with moisture, which is also a necessary condition for the normal development of the plant organism.
Already from the moment of snow melting in the forest community, in many plants one can observe already developed stems with young, slightly green leaves, as well as formed buds. This group of plants has another feature of development. In the second half of summer and autumn, early spring flowering plants experience a significant increase in renewal buds with the isolation of inflorescences laid in them. The growth rate of points increases as autumn approaches. During the winter months, both pollen grains and embryo sacs are formed in the flowers of early spring plants. Without exposure to low temperatures for a certain period, early spring plants do not develop. Even in those cases when the soil in the forest really freezes, the young parts of the plants do not freeze. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that the freezing temperature of cell sap in overwintering plants is much lower than 0C. In hibernating organs, starch is replaced by sugar. The sugar concentration is high, the freezing point is lower.
All early spring flowering plants are perennials, many store spare nutrients in tubers, bulbs, rhizomes, stem core for quick and early flowering.
The “transparency” of a leaf-free forest plant is also used for pollination. In a bare spring forest, nothing prevents the wind from transferring pollen from male flowers (collected in “dusty” catkins) to female flowers, consisting of only small sticky pistils. This is very typical for trees and shrubs that bloom in spring. Another interesting phenomenon for the spring forest is wind-pollinated grasses, for example, hairy sorrel. Her flowers are small, inconspicuous, but the absence of other herbs and the massive accumulation of these plants allows her to pollinate. The pollen is light and very dry.
Low-growing insect-pollinated plants attract the first insects with bright flowers. Who will notice their flowers in the dusk of a summer forest? And in spring, when the lower tiers of the forest are well lit, yellow (anemone), blue (violets), purple (tenacious, Corydalis) and pink flowers are best seen here.
But the small plants allocated to the group of "ephemeroids" use all the favorable spring factors most fully.
Ephemeroids- This is a very special group of plants with peculiar habitats. In short, these are those plants which, having subterranean organs, go through their annual growing season as quickly as the ephemera. The word "ephemeral" is associated with something beautiful, but fleeting, short-lived. In our forests, their "hurried" life is associated with a sharp change in the light flux. If at the beginning of May the illumination and temperature in the forest is comparable to the illumination and temperature in open areas, then at the height of summer in the forest it is both darker and colder. This prevents not only the normal development of plants, but also the normal life of pollinators. (Biology at school. No. 1 1994 // Spring phenomena in plant life, p. 63)
An example of them can be various types of corydalis, goose onions, anemones. They are born immediately after the snow melts. It is quite cool at this time of the year, but the ephemeroids develop very quickly nonetheless. After a week or two, they already bloom, and after another two or three weeks, their fruits with seeds already ripen. At the same time, the plants themselves turn yellow, lie down on the ground, and then their aerial part dries up.
All ephemeroids are perennial plants. After the aerial part dries up, they do not die. Their living underground organs are preserved in the soil: tubers, bulbs, rhizomes. These organs are repositories of reserve nutrients. It is due to this building material that ephemeroids develop so quickly in the spring. With such a short growing season, and even with an unfavorable spring temperature regime, it is impossible to accumulate a lot of nutrients necessary for the development of tall and powerful stems and large leaves. Therefore, all our ephemeroids are small in size. (Petrov V.V. The flora of our Motherland. M: Enlightenment, 1991, p.63).
There is another problem with perennial early spring flowering plants - seed dispersal. By the time their seeds ripened, trees and shrubs were already covered with leaves, summer grasses had risen. There is practically no wind in the forest, so the distribution of seeds with its help is not effective, and even animal hair cannot be reached. They also do not have time for the ripening of juicy berries that forest animals would eat. But who is always in abundance in the forest is ants. On the fruits or seeds of these plants, special fleshy appendages are formed, rich in oil - elaiosomes ( from the Greek elaion - oil, soma - body), which attract ants. Plants that spread their seeds with the help of ants are called myrmecochores. Myrmecochores include all our ephemeroids, as well as approximately 46% of all forest herbaceous plants. (Biology at school. No. 2, 1998, p. 70).

Research results

In the course of the research work, 17 species of early spring flowering plants were identified:
1. Warty birch.
2. Veronica oak.
3. Anemone is rancid.
4. Goose bow.
5. Pedunculate oak.
6. Tenacious creeping.
7. Starry oak.
8. Ash-leaved maple.
9. May lily of the valley.
10. Common hazel.
11. Mother and stepmother.
12. Hairy hairy.
13 Spring Companion.
14. Trembling poplar (aspen).
15. Dog violet.
16. Corydalis dense.
17. Common bird cherry.

Having studied the characteristics of these plants, I divided them into ecological groups 1) in relation to light; 2) in relation to moisture;
3) according to the method of pollination; 4) ephemeroids; 5) according to life forms.

By in relation to light It is customary to distinguish three main groups of plants: 1. heliophytes- (from the Greek "helios" - the sun, "phyton" - a plant) plants of open spaces, well-lit habitats; 2. facultative heliophytes- species that can live in full sunlight, but tolerate some dimming;

3. sciophytes- (from the Greek "skia" - shadow) species that do not grow in open spaces. (Life of plants, vol. 1 M: Enlightenment 1997, p. 65). These three categories of plants are, of course, not sharply demarcated. Not always the growth of plants in illuminated places (or shaded) indicates their actual need for light.

By in relation to moisture.
Plants are classified according to their ability to retain moisture.

1. Poikilohydride these plants easily absorb and easily lose water, tolerate prolonged dehydration. As a rule, these are plants with poorly developed tissues (bryophytes, ferns, algae). 2. Homoyohydrides- plants capable of maintaining a constant water content in tissues themselves, among them there are different ecological groups (Plant Life, vol. 1, p. 76):
- hydatophytes– aquatic plants wholly or almost wholly submerged in water;
- hydrophytes- water-terrestrial, attached to the soil near water bodies and on abundantly moistened soil far from water bodies;
- hygrophytes- plants living on abundantly moist soils and at high humidity;
-mesophytes- plants that live with sufficient moisture;
- xerophytes- plants that can extract moisture when it is lacking, limit the evaporation of water or store water.
Ecological groups of early spring flowering plants in relation to light and moisture.

Analyzing the collected data presented in the table, all the early spring flowering plants that I found - mesophytes, and all these plants are heliophytes, with the exception of spring sochechnik, buttercup anemone - they sciophytes.

By pollination method
All early flowering plants are cross-pollinated by wind and insects. It is necessary to bloom early for successful pollination, especially for wind-pollinated ones, when there is still no foliage on trees and shrubs. Male inflorescences can be many times larger than female single or clustered flowers in order to produce as much fine, dry and very light pollen as possible. They say about such flowering - the plant "dusts".
Ephemeroids

Plants that quickly go through their annual growing season.

Ecological groups of early spring flowering plants according to the method of pollination and the duration of the growing season.

By life forms.
The term "life forms" was introduced in the 80s of the 19th century by the famous Danish botanist E. Warming, one of the founders of plant ecology. Warming understood the life form as “a form in which the vegetative body of a plant (individual) is in harmony with the external environment throughout its entire life, from the cradle to the coffin, from seed to death” (Life of plants, vol. 1 p. 88) . Speaking about the harmony of a plant with the environment, we mean the adaptability of plants to the complex of external factors that have been historically developed in the course of evolution, which dominate in the area of ​​its distribution.
The most popular among botanists is the classification of life forms proposed by the Danish botanist K. Rawinker (Life of Plants, vol. 1 p. 91). He singled out one sign - the location of renewal points from the surface of the earth, from which new shoots will develop:
1.Fanerophytes(Greek "Phaneros" - open, obvious) - in this type of plants, the points of renewal overwinter openly, quite high. They are protected by special bud scales. These are all trees and shrubs.
2. geophytes(Greek "geos" - earth) - renewal buds are stored in the earth. The above-ground part dies off for the winter. New shoots develop from buds located on bulbs, tubers or rhizomes wintering in the soil.
3. Hemicryptophytes(Greek "hemi" - semi-, and "crypto" - hidden) are herbaceous plants whose renewal buds are above the soil level, often under the protection of fallen leaves and other plant debris.

4. X amephites(renewal points at a height of 20-30 cm above the ground)

5. T erophytes(renewal buds in seeds). But I did not find such early spring flowering plants.

During the work, I carried out an eye count of the frequency of occurrence of species, which I displayed in the table.

Findings.

Based on the study:

1. 17 species of early spring flowering plants were found.
2. Most of these plants are found moderately often and often in the vicinity of the village.
3. The main ecological groups of these plants are:
- in relation to the light - heliophytes;
- in relation to moisture - mesophytes;
- according to the method of pollination - wind-pollinated and insect-pollinated,
- according to life forms - phanerophytes, geophytes, hemicryptophytes.
4. The presence of ephemeroids was revealed.
5. Among the early spring plants, no protected ones have been identified.

Conclusion.

In the course of my research work, I did not identify rare and protected species among early spring flowering plants. But, nevertheless, they need protection. Appearing first after a long winter, they attract increased attention, which leads to a massive collection, especially those species that have beautiful flowers (corydalis, anemone, commensals). Explanatory work can save them from thoughtless collection, and not only among children, but also among adults. Many of the species presented in this work are medicinal. It is very important that these plants do not fall into the lists of endangered ones.
I intend to continue my work, because it seems to me that I have not met all the plants of this group yet.
The results of my work can be used by students of the 6th grade when studying the vegetation of our region in biology lessons.

List of used literature.
1. Plant life. Edited by Fedorov A.A. M: Enlightenment, 1974.
2. Petrov V.V. The flora of our Motherland. M: Enlightenment, 1991.
3. Tikhomirov V.N. Key to higher plants of the Yaroslavl region. Yaroslavl, Upper - Volga book publishing house, 1986.
4. Biology at school No. 1. 1994 // Shipunov A.B. Spring phenomena in plant life.
5. Biology at school number 2. 1998 //Klepikov M.A. Primroses.
6. Biology at school number 2. 2002 //Antsiferov A.V. Early spring field trip with sixth graders.

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Lesson objectives: to introduce students to the various methods of pollination in flowering plants, to consider adaptations to various methods of pollination that arose during evolution .

Lesson objectives:

Educational: show the importance of pollination in plant life.

Developing: to form the ability to highlight the main thing, compare, systematize the features of insect-pollinated and wind-pollinated plants, continue the formation of the ability to work with a textbook.

Educational: promote the ethical education of children, instill a love of nature.

Lesson type: combined.

Teaching methods: reproductive, partially exploratory, work in pairs.

Equipment: tables "The structure of a flower", "Pollination of flowers by insects", "Wind-pollinated plants", "Artificial pollination of corn", envelopes with a task, a computer, a projector, an educational disk "Biology -6", a herbarium of self-pollinated and cross-pollinated plants, a presentation for the lesson , workbook No. 1.

1. Organizational part of the lesson.
2. Updating students' knowledge.
3. Exploring a new topic.
4. Consolidation of new material.
5. Summing up the lesson. Putting marks.
6. Homework.

All the life the flowers don't leave us
Beautiful heirs of nature.
They come to us at dawn,
At sunset, they carefully leave.

A) Frontal conversation on the questions:

What plants are called flowering plants?

What is a flower? What are the main parts of a flower?

What is the structure of the pistil?

What develops from the ovary of the pistil?

What is the structure of a stamen?

What is in the anther of a stamen?

What is an inflorescence

b) Work in pairs. Solving a crossword puzzle on the topic covered

(children receive crossword puzzles and start solving it).

C) Summarizing the answers (slide number 1-transition to a new topic)

A) goal setting

B) problematic issue

Why does the plant bloom? To please us humans?

Why are there many different insects on plants during this period?

Teacher: (slide number 3) Summarizes the students' answers and together define "bloom"

- What is pollination?

(Suggested student answers) (slide number 4)

The value of pollination (slide number 5)

Pollination types: (slide number 6)

A) self-pollination B) cross-pollination. Self-pollination.

Slide number 7. Self-pollination. Give a brief description of self-pollination. Why do you think plants need to self-pollinate?

(Suggested student responses)

What adaptations do plants have for self-pollination?

(Suggested student responses)

- often occurs in unopened flowers, that is, in a bud;

- the stamens are longer than the pistils and the pollen from them, under the influence of gravity, itself crumbles onto the pistils;

Then together we formulate a conclusion and pay attention to (slide No. 8).

Plant adaptations for self-pollination.

Slide number 9. Examples of plants in which self-pollination is observed.

Slide number 10. Cross pollination (definition). Give a brief description of cross-pollination.

Complete task number 1 in the workbook to paragraph 24.

Cross-pollination can be of several types.

Slides number 11-12. Cross-pollination by insects.

Guys, what do you think, what adaptations do plants have for pollination by insects? (intended student responses).

Then we formulate a conclusion together.

Slides No. 13-14. Adaptations of plants to pollination by insects.

Slide number 15. Pollination of plants by wind.

Guys, what do you think, what adaptations do plants have for wind pollination?

Slide number 16. Adaptations of plants to wind pollination.

Slide number 17. Examples of plants pollinated by the wind

(Birch, hazel, oak, alder, aspen, rye, corn, wheatgrass)

To consolidate the material, complete task No. 2 in the workbook.

Then we perform the laboratory work "Consideration of insect-pollinated and wind-pollinated plants" (Instruction card on pages 90-91)

(Students work with herbarium material, then formulate a conclusion)

Questions for students:

- How can you find out from the structure of a flower how a plant is pollinated, by wind or insects?

- What signs of adaptability appeared in the process of evolution in wind-pollinated and insect-pollinated plants?

(Suggested student responses). Then we formulate a conclusion together.

There are other ways to pollinate plants.

Slide number 17. Other ways of pollinating plants.

Slide number 18. Pollination with water.

Slide number 19. Kopyten. Ants are pollinators.

Slide number 20. Hummingbird.

Slide number 21. Baobab.

Slide number 22. Animal Couscous in Australia.

Teacher. In addition to natural pollination occurring in nature, artificial pollination is also possible. Artificial pollination is pollination carried out by humans in order to breed new varieties and increase plant yields. (student's story about methods of artificial pollination using a table

"Artificial pollination of corn"

A) independent work (fill in the table). If the named feature is characteristic of this group of plants, a "+" sign is put, if not "-"

B) Find biological errors. Now let's check how much you understood the topic studied. Our school received 2 letters from residents of the Flower City. You probably all remember one of the residents of the city - Dunno, who was invented by the writer Nosov. Dunno seriously decided to take up botany, but, as usual, got everything mixed up. Help him.

1 competition "Compositions of Dunno"

Your task is to find biological errors in Dunno's poems.

1. There was a birch in the field
And her bee pollinated
(Birch is pollinated by the wind)
2. As in our garden
Blooming sweet peas
Flies, bees will fly,
Let's wait for the harvest
(Pea is a self-pollinating plant)

2 competition "Why". The second letter from Znayka. He also asks you to answer questions that differ from Znayka's questions in their seriousness and correctness.

1. Why do plants that bloom in the evening and at night often have white and yellow corollas?
2. Why can calm weather during flowering cause a decrease in rye yields, but such weather does not affect the wheat yield?
3. Why in the spring, few people notice the flowering of birch.
4. Why did one of the two flowers of an apple tree form a fruit, while the other did not? Why did it happen?

There are many classifications of plants, but one of the main ones is the one based on the nature of pollination. From this point of view, crops are divided into several large groups: wind-pollinated, pollinated by animals (mainly insects, so we will call such plants insect-pollinated) and water (hydrophilia, is observed infrequently, therefore it will not be considered). Representatives of all these groups have cross-pollination, that is, the transfer of pollen with outside help (the opposite of self-pollination).

To find out what wind-pollinated plants are, you must first understand the features and differences of each group.

Plants, as we have just found out, can be pollinated both from the wind and with the help of insects.

Wind pollinated crops, their signs

To begin with, plants that are part of this group (they are also called anemophilous) under certain circumstances can be pollinated by insects, although this does not happen often. Such plants are distinguished by numerous small branches, as well as by the fact that they are able to produce a large amount of pollen (each specimen produces several million pollen grains). In many crops (such as, for example, mulberry or hazel), the formation of flowers begins even before the leaves bloom.

The flowers themselves are often inconspicuous and collected in small inflorescences. In a panicle, for example, this is a complex spikelet. The inflorescence produces many light and small pollen grains.

Note! As a rule, crops pollinated by the wind grow in groups. Moreover, wind-pollinated plants include not only trees (birch, alder, etc.), but also grasses (sedge, timothy) and bushes.

Insect pollinated crops

A distinctive feature of these plants (by the way, they are also called entomophilous) is that they bloom after the leaves appear. Temperature conditions play an important role here: when the temperature rises, insects appear that carry pollen. In addition, all insect-pollinated crops have nectaries.

The most common representatives of the group include willow. Willow flowering can be observed both before and after foliage formation. But early flowering has nothing to do with wind pollination - plants resort to such a “reception” solely to fight competitors for pollinating insects.

Table. Comparative characteristics of wind- and insect-pollinated crops

Anthers of anemophilous cultures are carried outside the flowers. The stigmas of the pistils are large and “shaggy”, which allows them to catch dust particles that fly in the air. Also, such plants have special adaptations, so to speak, due to which pollen is not wasted in vain, but falls mainly on the stigmas of other representatives of its species.

And now let's get acquainted in more detail with the features of crops pollinated by the wind.

Features of anemophilous plants

All representatives of this group are characterized by the following features:

• inconspicuous or inconspicuous flowers (explained by the fact that they should not attract insects);
• small and dry pollen grains;
• long threads on which anthers hang.

Now more. The main feature of all wind-pollinated crops is the unattractiveness of flowers, manifested in the absence of nectar, smell and bright colors. At the same time, pollen grains that develop in large quantities are extremely small: the average weight of one dust grain is 0.000001 mg. Let's give a small comparison: a speck of pumpkin dust - a plant pollinated by bees - weighs a thousand times more, i.e., about 0.001 mg. The horse chestnut inflorescence alone is capable of forming 42 million grains, while the rye inflorescence is ten times smaller (4 million 200 thousand). The peculiarities of the pollen of anemophilous plants include the fact that, being completely devoid of adhesive substances, it often also has a smooth surface.

Note! Wind pollinated crops do not have nectar, but they are often visited by insects that feed on pollen. However, these insects play only a minor role as vectors.

What plants can be wind pollinated?

Below are representatives of wind-pollinated crops.

1. Birch family. The most common member of the family in Europe and Asia is the warty birch, which blooms in early spring and is distinguished by complex inflorescences-earrings (the latter are used in medicine).

   

2. Aspen and poplar. These are the only representatives of the willow family that do not have nectaries. All others are pollinated by insects.

   

3. Monoecious plant with same-sex flowers. Flowering of catkins is observed even before the foliage appears.

   

4. All members of the family are pollinated by wind. The most common of them include walnut, gray and black walnut, as well as hazel.

   

5. Alder. This tree also blooms before the leaves appear. But, characteristically, some types of alder bloom in autumn, when the leaves fall. Earrings in this case are single-sex.

   

6. Beech family. Monoecious wind-pollinated crops, the most famous of which is oak. By the way, in nature there are over 500 varieties of oak, and all of them begin to bloom simultaneously with the appearance of leaves. The family also includes edible chestnut (not to be confused with horse chestnut) and, in fact, the beech itself.

   

7. In this monoecious culture, the catkins also begin to bloom at the same time as the foliage appears.

   

8. Representative of the cereal family, which includes six species, of which only one is cultivated.

   

   

9. Herbs. Wind-pollinated grasses primarily include cereals, plantain, sedge, nettle, hops and hemp.

   

Note! The list contains only the most common representatives of anemophilous plants, so it cannot be considered complete.

wind pollination process

Pollen dispersal by wind can hardly be considered a controlled process. Therefore, the probability that the grains will fall on the stigmas of their own flowers is quite high. Self-pollination, as is known, is undesirable for such plants, and therefore the flowers have widely developed various adaptations that prevent this. So, most often the stigmas and anthers do not ripen at the same time. For the same reason, some wind-pollinated crops have dioecious flowers.

Most of the trees pollinated in this way bloom in early spring, that is, before the foliage blooms - this is also a device that prevents self-pollination.

This is especially pronounced in hazel and birch. And no wonder, because thick leaves would be a serious obstacle to moving pollen grains.

It is worth mentioning other devices. The stamens of most cereal plants begin to grow very quickly when the flowers open, and the growth rate can reach 1-1.5 mm / min. After a while, the length of the stamens is three to four times greater than the original, they go beyond the flower and hang down. And only after the dust particles are below, they crack. At the same time, the anther itself is slightly bent, forming a kind of bowl where the pollen is poured. As a result, the grains do not fall to the ground, but calmly wait for a gust of wind to leave the anther.

Note! In some grasses, the pedicels open up before flowering, forming an angle of up to 80° between them. As a result, the pollen is blown away by the wind. At the end of the flowering period, the flowers return to their original position.

Also, the position of the inflorescence can change in hornbeam, poplar and birch. At first, the inflorescences “look” up, but before opening the anthers, the earring stem extends, and they (the inflorescences) hang down. Flowers move away from each other and at the same time become accessible to the wind. Pollen grains fall on the scales of the lower flowers, from where they are blown away.

Some anemophilous plants (by analogy with entomophilous ones) have "explosive" flowers. So, in one of the varieties of nettle, the stamens during the ripening period are so tense that, after opening, they sharply straighten and get rid of the grains of bursting anthers. At such moments, dense clouds of pollen are observed above the flowers.

We also note that the pollen of wind-pollinated crops may not always crumble, but only if the weather is favorable. The street should be relatively dry, the wind should be weak or medium. Often, morning hours are most suitable for pollination.

Conclusion

As a result, I would like to give a few words to the planting of wind-pollinated crops. We will immediately make a reservation that it is not necessary to mix such plants, since each species has its own adaptations and principles. All grasses, as noted above, are anepophilic and all of them bloom only after foliage appears on the trees. But cereals are not "loners", they grow in groups - and large ones - in steppes, meadows, etc. (in other words, in open space).

But with bushes and trees, things are different: these crops, growing in forests, are located at a certain distance from each other.

Video - Wind Cross Pollination

We are surrounded by hundreds of species of plants, full of bright and fragrant flowers. We are so used to them that we do not even think about the fact that their life is the result of an amazing interaction with the external environment - insects, wind, water and birds. For seed plants, pollination is necessary; without it, they will not be able to continue their genus and be fully realized. As a result of evolution, representatives of the flora have found many ways to transfer pollen. In order for pollination to be successful, pollen from a stamen must land on the stigma of another flower belonging to the same species.

Plants are wind pollinated

About 20% on our planet are pollinated by wind. The structure of their flowers is ideally suited for this process, as is the flowering time. In most cases, wind-pollinated plants bloom in the spring, before the first leaves begin to bloom. This choice was not made by chance, as the foliage makes the laborious process of pollination with the help of the wind even more difficult, leaving the poor fellows too little chance of reproduction.

Wind pollinated plants usually grow in large groups to make it easier for them to complete their difficult task. Their flowers are not distinguished by either bright juicy colors or a strong alluring aroma. They are small in size and are collected in large inflorescences. The stamens of wind-pollinated flowers hang down and usually have hairs that trap flying pollen. Also, a special adhesive liquid can be used for these purposes. Wind pollinated plants have dry, light, smooth pollen so that the wind can easily pick it up and carry it away.

insect pollinated plants

Their flowers are the exact opposite of those of wind-pollinated plants. They are brightly colored and have a strong aroma. All this is necessary so that insects can notice a flower that hides a treasured delicacy in its depths. The summer variety of flowers clearly demonstrates the variety of tricks that plants use to attract pollinating insects. Insect-pollinated and wind-pollinated plants serve completely different purposes. That is why they differ so much in their structure. Most flowers that are considered beautiful are designed to be easily seen from the air and distinguished from others.

Another means of attracting insects is scent. Different insects like completely different smells. So, for example, bees and bumblebees love sweet floral scents that people like so much. Another thing is flies that prefer the aroma of rotting meat. Therefore, flowers pollinated by flies exude such unpleasant putrefactive odors.

Amazing harmony

Pollination of plants is an incredibly important thing thanks to which our ecosystem exists. Insects do this not for the common good, they are only looking for the nectar they feed on. And noble plants are ready to provide them with food, but in return they soil the body of an insect with pollen so that it brings it to another flower. For this, the most ingenious and incredible systems created by nature are used. Some plants even hold pollinators hostage inside the flower until they get enough pollen. Different plants are pollinated by different types of insects, which is due to the design of their flowers. Color is also of great importance, so white flowers are pollinated mainly at night. The color helps to notice them, as does the fragrance that they emit only after sunset.

Wind-pollinated plants are no less interesting. Their pollen is not spent very economically, spreading over vast distances in order to fulfill its important mission. But wind-pollinated plants are many agricultural crops. But they certainly have no problems with pollination, since their crops cover entire hectares. Wherever the pollen flies, it will surely hit the target. In the wild, wind-pollinated plants also grow in groups, but, unfortunately, not so numerous.

self pollination

Self-pollination is the process by which pollen from the stamen of a flower reaches its own pistil. Most often this happens even before the flower opens. This phenomenon became a forced move due to the fact that some plant species did not have the opportunity to cross-pollinate. Over time, this feature has become fixed, becoming a constant for many colors. Self-pollination is especially common among agricultural crops, but some wild plants also reproduce in this way.

However, self-pollination is not a unique feature of one species; an ordinary plant can resort to its help if there is no one to pollinate it. Also, self-pollinating flowers can be cross-pollinated if given the opportunity.

amazing flowers

Now you know which plants are wind pollinated and which are pollinated by insects. As it turned out, side by side with us there is a whole wonderful world in which everything is closely interconnected. A world where the disappearance of one small bug can lead to the death of many species. Plants have amazing adaptability. Some flowers can only be pollinated by one type of insect, as their nectar is buried very deep. Others build a reliable defense against unwanted guests who want to feast on their nectar. For example, thorns or hairs on the stems of many flowers that prevent ants from reaching desired prey. The world of plants is a world of harmony and practicality. We are lucky that we were able to at least a little to join its beauty.

After the frozen soil thaws at the end of winter and begins to pass water and the minerals dissolved in it to the roots of the plants, the stems and trunks receive the necessary organic and nutrients, and it's time to bloom: spring confidently comes into its own.

The flowering period is the process of sexual reproduction of plants, which begins with the laying of the buds of flowers in the buds, followed by their appearance, pollination and flowering, as a result of which seeds and fruits appear, allowing the plants to continue their genus.

At the same time, flowering time in different plants occurs at different periods of their life cycle.

For example, the first flowering in annual plants begins early, after the sprout germinates, strengthens in the ground and releases a pair of leaves. Other plants (this primarily applies to trees) before they start the first flowering, develop the root system and accumulate nutrients so that the flowers and seeds develop normally.

Annual and biennial plants bloom once in a lifetime, and die, having spent all their strength and energy on this process. True, among such flowers there are also perennial plants, for example, the first flowering of puya raymondia growing in the Andes begins at the age of one hundred and fifty years.

As for perennial herbaceous and woody plants, their first flowering does not begin until they reach a certain age: in herbs, the onset of flowering varies from two to five years, while the flowering of trees begins in the twentieth, and in some species even in the thirtieth year. life.

Unlike annuals and biennials, perennials bloom multiple times. Some of them are characterized by periodicity (most fruit trees bloom once every two years, and oak - once every five to seven years), while others have a continuous flowering time (especially tropical plants, such as coconut palms).

How plants bloom

Inside each flower is a pistil (the part of the flower where, after fertilization, seeds are formed that begin to grow and turn into fruits) or a stamen (it contains the pollen necessary for fertilization, it is also called the male reproductive organ), or both together.

Seeds in the pistil begin to form no earlier than the pollen from the stamens reaches the stigma of the pistil. But this requires pollination. If it does not happen in time (and it happens during flowering), the pistil will dry out and reproduction will not occur.

Pollen

Interestingly, if a flower has both a pistil and a stamen, it is rarely pollinated by its own pollen: plants almost never allow this. The reason is simple: in order to form a fruit from which strong and robust plants will sprout, pollen must be obtained from a neighboring flower (this process is called cross-pollination).

Therefore, when flowering begins, in order to avoid the possibility of pollination by its own pollen, the stamens and pistils within the same flower ripen at different flowering times. For example, the pistil first ripens, and after it is pollinated by pollen from a neighboring flower, the anthers at the stamen open. It is because of this that we can observe the flowering of perennial plants for about two to three weeks a year.

Wind pollinated flowers

There are plants in which stamens and pistils are not only in different flowers, but also in “houses”: the flowers of some plants have only pistils, while others have stamens. Such plants are called dioecious and include willow, poplar, date palm, hops, hemp, nettles.

This means that in order to pollinate the pistil during flowering, pollen must fly from one flower to another, and the desired flower may well be at a distance of several kilometers. Dioecious plants have adapted to this in a rather original way: some use the wind, others use insects.

Plants pollinated by the wind are interesting because they never have bright and fragrant flowers, which, firstly, would interfere with the movement of pollen, and secondly, would attract insects that could well break the thin stamen filaments with anthers.

Therefore, instead of petals, such plants usually have nondescript scales that protect them from negative environmental influences, or there are no petals at all.

Interestingly, the plants even took into account the inconsistency of air currents, so those that are pollinated with the help of the wind usually grow close to each other: birches and pines form forests, corn, rye and other cereals occupy vast fields. All flowers that are pollinated with the help of air masses create a lot of pollen, for example, only one adult corn sprout contains about 50 million pistils.

Therefore, no matter which way the wind blows during flowering, pollen will still find suitable flowers. Moreover, plants do not wait until the pollen is right in the flower, but catch them with long and fluffy stigmas of pistils: when the pollen is between the hairs, it gets tangled in them.

There is another circumstance that facilitates the work of air currents: plants that use wind for pollination almost always bloom in early spring, before the appearance of leaves, which, by retaining pollen, could interfere with the process.

insects and pollination

It should be noted that this method of pollination is still not suitable for many plants, so they prefer to deliver their pollen to other flowers with the help of winged insects (bees, bumblebees, butterflies), luring them with honey, bright colors and an incredibly attractive aroma.

Interestingly, plants are quite picky about the choice of an insect suitable for them: some prefer bees, others prefer bumblebees, others prefer butterflies. Therefore, depending on preferences, they not only create the shape of flowers, inside which only a certain type of insect can be, but also open the petals at a time when this insect is awake (for example, all night flowers have a white color, since only this color is visible in darkness).

Plants that are characterized by early spring flowering, due to which pollination occurs with the help of bees, are white, yellow or blue in color - bees see only these colors. Closer to summer, a lot of red flowers appear - this tone is attractive to butterflies, which appear much later than bees. It is worth noting that the white color is attractive to absolutely all types of insects.

As for the honey that insects hunt for, it is hidden so deep in the flower that the bee, in order to get to it during flowering, needs to make its way between the pistils and stamens, smearing itself with pollen. After that, having flown to another plant, making her way for the next portion of honey, she leaves part of the pollen in the flower.

The time when plants bloom

The timing of flowering primarily depends on the type of plant, the amount of pollen and flowers, climatic conditions and soil quality. For example, poor or too abundant nutrition slows down flowering and reduces the quality of flowers.

Flowering time for fruit trees in the temperate latitudes of the northern hemisphere usually begins in mid-April and the flowering season continues until mid-May. If, due to climatic conditions, flowering of plants is observed at the end of summer or early autumn, this does not lead to anything good.

The secondary appearance of flowers on trees will deprive the gardener of the crop next year, since flowers will not appear in this place after winter: the plant will spend additional nutrients on the flowering of trees, the formation of seeds or seeds, which will make it less winter-hardy and more difficult to endure winter. Since this phenomenon cannot be prevented at the moment, in order to preserve nutrients in the tree, gardeners are advised to pick flowers and buds from it.

Flowering plants can be observed during the warm season. To this end, many gardeners, when planning the landscape of their suburban area, take into account the flowering season and strive to make the gardens bloom as long as possible. To do this, they use specially compiled flowering calendars for tuberous and bulbous plants, which indicate the period and time of flowering of a particular species.