Gardeners may wish these bright, playful blooms never existed.
This butterfly begs to differ. So do these tiny insects called thrips, foraging
for pollen. And this finch, munching away on their seeds.
You might think these are dandelions. But they’re actually close relatives called
catsears. They have furry leaves. Dandelions’ are
smooth. Both are edible.
Both create globes called “clocks,” full of seeds. The dandelion’s looks a little
tidier.
These green phyllaries point up in catsears, snuggly holding the flowers. In dandelions,
some of them curl down. Catsears like company. Their stems branch
out with multiple blooms.
Dandelions, they like their space, growing just one on each stem.
Both plants have a few secrets up their petals that explain why they’re so successful.
Catsears started out in Morocco, but have fanned out all around the world. All sorts
of pollinators pitch in to help them do it. Bees love catsears – and dandelions – because
instead of just one flower, each of these – called an inflorescence – is actually
a cluster of tiny flowers called florets.
Each one has its own flower parts, like these curly stigmas.
Every floret produces nectar that bees sip with their proboscis … and pollen, to eat
or carry away for their young. Don’t mind if I do!
Some of this pollen lands on a stigma … and fertilizes the ovules in the florets’ ovaries.
Each ovule will become a seed – dozens in each inflorescence.
Dandelions don’t even need pollen to reproduce. Their ovaries already have all the genetic
material they need to turn into a seed. They clone themselves.
And does this white tuft look familiar? It’s a hint at the transformation to come.
Once fertilized, a catsear inflorescence closes. It’s putting all its energy into growing
its seeds. Its petals wither and eventually fall off.
The same happens for a dandelion. It gets ready for the big moment.
It unfurls into an ethereal globe. Dozens of white tufts have extended out into
the tiny parachutes we know. A single one is called a pappus … each ready
to take flight and deliver the seed hiding inside this dried, ribbed fruit called a cypsela.
The pappus acts like an open umbrella, good at catching the wind.
Off they go … carrying their future ... … and our wishes with them.
Hi, it’s Laura. I love bees, like honeybees and bumblebees. Do you? And do you like surveys?
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