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 61 traplined flower DHJanzen101092.jpg high resolution
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| While we are on a red, hummingbird-pollinated flower, let me return to some other aspects of the hummingbird-flower mutualism. Why actually does the Columnea (Gesneriaceae) bear its red flowers below the leaves, hidden (in this image the branch is turned upside down to reveal the flower), with their presence signaled by red spots in the leaves? This plant lives in very rainy rainforest, and the flowers below the leaves are kept dry by the umbrella effect of the leaves - yet are found by an intelligent vertebrate that can learn to associate the red spots in the leaves with some hidden red flowers 15-25 cm away. | ||
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