IN THE GARDEN
O ver the next couple of months, the skyline here at Cambridge University Botanic Garden will quietly transform. High above our heads, our diverse tree collection – comprising approximately 2,000 individual specimens – is awakening with a remarkable display of flowers. From landscapes around the world, the collection brings together the low, spreading Betula medwediewii ‘Transcaucasian birch’ from the Caucasus; the towering, coniferous giant redwood ( Sequoiadendron giganteum ) from California; the eye-catching Chinese handkerchief tree ( Davidia involucrata ) and more. Many of these produce vibrant, colourful flowers in the spring and summer months, including the flowering cherries ( Prunus species and cultivars), with their clouds of delicate blossom, and the horse chestnuts ( Aesculus hippocastanum and Aesculus indica ) whose flower spikes or candles fill the canopy in May. Others, however, produce tiny, discreet winter and spring flowers borne on catkins. Many familiar trees are catkin-bearing, including the native silver birch ( Betula pendula ) and English oak ( Quercus robur ). While they might not be competing with the vibrant blooms of many spring- and summer-flowering species, they do hold infinite variety and interest during the colder, darker months. But have you ever wondered why there is such a distinction between the attractive
Others produce tiny, discreet winter and spring flowers borne on catkins
or a combination of all three, and these are highly attractive to specific pollinators. In these flowers, large, sticky pollen grains on the male anthers attach to the body of visiting pollinators while they forage for nectar. When a pollinator visits another flower searching for more nectar, the pollen it collected from the first flower will be deposited on the sticky female stigma of the second flower. In essence,
petalled flowers and the catkins? The answer comes down to pollinators… Mind-blowing blooms In areas where pollinators are plentiful – whether it be insects, birds, bats or even some rodents – plants produce flowers in which the reproductive organs (anthers and stigma) are surrounded by petals. The flowers are often large, colourful, scented
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