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UltravioletPhotography

Lupinus sparsiflorus [Coulter's Lupine]: Pollination Color Change


Andrea B.

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Blum, A.G. (2017) Pollination Color Change in Lupinus sparsiflorus Benth. (Fabaceae) Coulter's Lupine. Flowers photographed in ultraviolet and visible light. http://www.ultraviol...oulters-lupine/

Update 04 Apr 2022:  added remarks above those photos showing pollination color change.

 

Synonyms:

  • Mohave Lupine
  • Desert Lupine

Comment:

The banner of an L. sparsiflorus flower has a yellow & white area which changes to magenta pink after pollination. In a reflected UV photograph, this area is UV-absorbing both before and after pollination. However, if I am understanding the basics of bee vision correctly, I think that perhaps the yellow & white portion is brighter to the bee before pollination and darker after the colour change due to the lack of a red sensor in the bee eye. And so, an incoming bee might be attracted to the upper, brighter unpollinated flowers? (See the rendition of this lupine in bee colours in the 4th photo in Set 1.)

Photos showing pollination change: Set 1, photo 3. Set 2, photo 1.

 

Reference:

1. Epple, A.O. (1995) A Field Guide to the Plants of Arizona. Commonname, page xxx. Falcon Guides, Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, CT.

 

Set 1

Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA

05 March 2012

Wildflower

 

Visible Light [f/xxx for 1/xxx" @ ISO-XXX with Onboard Flash and Baader UVIR-Block Filter]

lupinusSparsiflorus_VisFlash_30120305joshuaTreeNpCA_23425pn.jpg

 

Ultraviolet Light [f/xxx for 1/xxx" @ ISO-XXX with SB-14 UV-modified Flash and BaaderU UV-Pass Filter]

lupinusSparsiflorus_UVBaadSB14_30120305joshuaTreeNpCA_23433pf.jpg

 

Visible Light [f/xxx for 1/xxx" @ ISO-XXX in Sunlight with Baader UVIR-Block Filter]

One unpollinated flower on the upper left has no magenta on its banner. Flowers below it show magenta above the yellow. This indicates pollination has occurred.

lupinusSparsiflorus_VisSun_30120305joshuaTreeNpCA_35295pnPf.jpg

 

 

Bee Vision

This crop from the preceding photograph was hand coloured to show a model of how a trichromatic (UV, B, G) insect might see the L. sparsiflorus flowers. The two fully opened, unpollinated flowers at the top of the plant may appear brighter to the bee than the lower, already pollinated flowers which have changed colour.

lupinusSparsiflorus_VisSun_30120305joshuaTreeNpCA_35295beeVis.jpg

 

 

Set 2

Saguaro National Park, Arizona, USA

03 March 2012

Wildflower

 

Visible Light [f/xxx for 1/xxx" @ ISO-XXX in Sunlight with Baader UVIR-Block Filter]

Note the yellow on the banner of the upper flower which faces the camera. The lower pollinated flowers show added magenta on the banner.

lupinusSparsiflorus_visSun_20120313saguaroNpEastAZ_25155pnCrop.jpg

 

Ultraviolet Light [f/xxx for 1/xxx" @ ISO-XXX with SB-14 UV-modified Flash and AndreaU-MkI UV-Pass Filter]

lupinusSparsiflorus_uvAndreaMk1_SB14_20120313saguaroNpEastAZ_25181pnCrop01.jpg

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No taxonomic relationship to Iris whatsoever. Iris is a monocot and Lupinus is a dicot.

 

The only commonality is the asymmetric flower design ('zygomorphic' in botanese).

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Think peas, beans, sweet peas, clovers......

They all have a similar flower shape. The top petal is called the standard. The two lower petals are the wings which often conceal the two keel petals, sometimes fused. You can see a keel in the first two photos, for example.

 

Lupines have come to fascinate me during this UV adventure. The pollination colour change and the interesting UV-signatures make them worthy of pursuit for the botanical UV photographer.

 

An iris flower has some stand-up upper petals (standards) and some draped lower petals (falls), so I can see the initial confusion.

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  • 5 years later...

Update 04 Apr 2022:  added remarks above those photos showing pollination color change.

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