Saturday, April 21, 2012

Japanese Barberry

Though you will rarely find any information about this plant that is favorable .... it is one of my favorite. It is not native and it is incredibly invasive. The reason I enjoy finding this plant on my walks is that its flower has a peculiar trigger mechanism. If you stick a pine needle into the flower to the base of the stamen, the stamen will move quickly away from the petals and the anther strikes the stigma which releases the pollen. I have not seen the pollen but you can clearly see the stamen move. It will actually reset itself so it is ready to spring into action next time a visitor comes. It must be quite a surprise to a visiting bee, but such a clever way to disperse pollen.  So many people, birds, animals, and even insects have passed by this little flower and not even guessed how interesting it is.

Where I found it : In the woods
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