Dependency of Pollination on Patterns in Monarda (Labiatae)

Abstract

THE members of the genus Monarda are usually pollinated by bees and wasps. The latter will also nip holes into the backs of the expanded corolla tubes to take the nectar directly and thus circumvent the process of pollination. Some corollas, like those of M. clinopodia and M. lindheimeri, are very rich in nectar. Nectaries are located in the throat of the corolla tube from the opening downward toward the base, and consist of short hair-like glands. They are protected by a dense ring of non-glandular pubescence at the inner throat opening. In the small and abruptly expanded corolla tubes of the sub-genus Cheilyctis the nectaries extend over a more restricted area than in the larger and more evenly expanded corolla tubes of most species in the sub-genus Monarda.