On Sat, 7 Aug 2004 06:06:29 GMT, Tim Tyler wrote:

Kay wrote or quoted:
In article , Tim Tyler writes

Does anyone know why Nasturtium flowers have those strange horn-shaped
bits pointing backwards?

A pictu http://www.andysmall.com/Media/Jpegs/00006.jpg

My best guess so far: flower/bee counter-weight.

Think you know better than that? Please *do* let me know ;-)

Usually because the nectar is buried at the end of it to make sure the
pollinator has to go in a long way for it and gets well and truly
covered with pollen. Not sure if this is the case with nasturtiums -
haven't dissected one to see.

I believe this is not the right answer - since the "horn" contains no
flower stamens - and no pollen. The nasturtium's pollen is clearly
evident elsewhere. The horn appears to be a simple hollow tube.

The 'horn' holds the nectar. As children, we used to bite the very tip
off the 'horn' and suck the sweet nectar.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net