record-breaking pollen catapult

The release of stored elastic energy often drives rapid movements in animal systems, and plant components employing this mechanism should be able to move with similar speed. Here we describe how the flower stamens of the bunchberry dogwood (Cornus canadensis) rely on this principle to catapult polle...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNature (London) Vol. 435; no. 7039; p. 164
Main Authors Edwards, J, Whitaker, D, Klionsky, S, Laskowski, M.J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group 12.05.2005
Subjects
anthers
Cornus canadensis
corolla
explosive flower opening
Flowers
Plant reproduction
Pollen
pollen catapulting
pollen flow
stamens
Velocity
United States > US
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Summary:The release of stored elastic energy often drives rapid movements in animal systems, and plant components employing this mechanism should be able to move with similar speed. Here we describe how the flower stamens of the bunchberry dogwood (Cornus canadensis) rely on this principle to catapult pollen into the air as the flower opens explosively. Our high-speed video observations show that the flower opens in less than 0.5 ms--to our knowledge, the fastest movement so far recorded in a plant.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/435164a