Abstract
The yellow structure of this flower – Hypecoum erectum var lactiflorum, a desert annual that is native to Central Asia – is not an unusually large anther. Rather, it is a middle lobe of the flower’s inner petal. However, this lobe not only mimics an anther’s color and shape; it also presents pollen to the flower’s only known pollinator, the bee Colletes vestitus. The middle lobe takes up pollen from the anthers, folds upon itself, and then gradually bends outward to offer pollen. It therefore uses both visual and functional mimicry to attract C vestitus for pollination. This flower’s anther-mimicking middle lobe is an auxiliary and previously unknown pollination structure. Two questions are raised by this mimicry. What is the evolutionary force behind this strategy, and are key regulatory genes involved in the development of the elaborate petal? Answering these questions would improve our understanding of this new form of mimicry.
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