Spergula arvensis L.
#SpergulaArvensis #CornSpurrey #WeedPlant #Caryophyllaceae #StickyPlant #Flower #Wildflower #WhiteFlowers #Nature #NatureLover #Botany #Plants #Flowerphotography #Norway

2021/07/05
@Bergen

Check out the new Crepidorhopalon droseroides (#Linderniaceae). Somebody has got to study this thing & find out whether it’s carnivorous. Coincidentally, Linderniaceae is sister to #Byblidaceae. Byblis is also sticky & produces enzymes in its glue. #carnivory #stickyplant #Botany #PlantScience 🌾🧪

Mistletoes (#Santalaceae & #Loranthacea) have seeds surrounded by sticky mucilage, which glues excreted seeds to branches where they germinate & parasitize their hosts. : sp. indet. Australia, Julie Burgher CCBYNCND2 #stickyplant #Botany #PlantScience 🌾🧪

Some plants have sticky inflorescences… or bands of #stickiness on the stalks. Does it protect nectar against thieving ants? Natural Tanglefoot® can be found on the stalks of Anulocaulis leiosolenus var. leiosolenus (📷: Corey Lang CCBYNC4) #Nyctaginaceae #stickyplant #Botany #PlantScience 🌾🧪

Everyone probably knows petunias (#Solanaceae) & their stickiness. Glandular hairs on the surface of Petunia exserta secrete an exudate that is the undoing of greenhouse fungus gnats. Petunia isn’t carnivorous, but carnivory may have started this way. Function? #stickyplant #Botany #PlantScience 🌾🧪

Genlisea (#Lentibulariaceae; 30 spp) has tubular, subsurface leaves that trap soil invertebrates in convolute chambers. Above ground, they have sticky inflorescence stems that trap insects. Do they also digest them? : G. pallida, Craig Peter CCBYNC4 #stickyplant #carnivorous #Botany #PlantScience 🌾🧪

This week’s topic: Sticky plants! Yep, mucilages & glues; form & function. Lots to talk about. Some stickiness has an obvious function, e.g. insect trapping on Drosera (#Drosophyllaceae) & adhesive pads on climbing Parthenocissus quinquefolia (#Vitaceae). #stickyplant #Botany #PlantScience 🌾🧪

Silene spp. (#Caryophyllaceae) are known as “catchflies” because their inflorescence stalks are famously sticky. I posted about sticky flower stalks earlier this week, but here is a Christmas bonus shot of Silene antirrhina by Tom Norton CCBY4. #stickyplant #sticky #Botany #PlantScience 🌾🧪

Stickiness can be important in epizoochory = the transport of seeds or fruits on the outside of animals. Sticky secretions on the surface of Boerhavia coccinea fruits help this American plant get around. It’s now a pantropical #weed. #Nycataginacea #dispersal #stickyplant #Botany #PlantScience 🌾🧪