Andrea B. Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 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] Ultraviolet Light [f/xxx for 1/xxx" @ ISO-XXX with SB-14 UV-modified Flash and BaaderU UV-Pass Filter] 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. 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. 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. Ultraviolet Light [f/xxx for 1/xxx" @ ISO-XXX with SB-14 UV-modified Flash and AndreaU-MkI UV-Pass Filter] Link to comment
Andy Perrin Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Are they related to irises? Kinda reminds me of iris versicolor. Very pretty flower. Link to comment
nfoto Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 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). Link to comment
Andy Perrin Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 That (and the colors, I suppose) are probably what I was noticing. Thanks. Link to comment
Andrea B. Posted March 7, 2017 Author Share Posted March 7, 2017 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. Link to comment
Andrea B. Posted April 4, 2022 Author Share Posted April 4, 2022 Update 04 Apr 2022: added remarks above those photos showing pollination color change. Link to comment
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