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Pollen transfer on birds' tongues

Nature volume 394, pages 731–732 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

Plants are adapted for pollination by birds in diverse and intricate ways. Here I describe an extraordinary example of these adaptations. The flowers of Microloma sagittatum, a member of the milkweed family, clip parcels of pollen precisely onto the tongues of sunbirds. The pollen parcels are carried inside the bird's mouth to the next flower where they are detached mechanically. This is, to the best of my knowledge, the first evidence for pollen transfer on the tongues of birds, a phenomenon that might be more widespread.

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Figure 1: Mechanism of pollen attachment to bird tongues.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch, 7701, Cape Town, South Africa

    Anton Pauw

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  1. Anton Pauw
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Pauw, A. Pollen transfer on birds' tongues. Nature 394, 731–732 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/29421

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