Rupert (W.Yorkshire) wrote:

So the Araujia gets really close and personal with the moths.
Why does it do that?-- naughty sexy explanations (if you must)

Well it doesn't do it with the moths, it was my way of saying that I
prefer to have many climbers intermingling, weaving and clambering
about each other, forming a mass of foliage and hopefully, different
flowers. Araujia (sometimes known as the 'Cruel Plant') ensures
pollination by having very sticky pollen masses that adhere to any
insect's probing parts. Since the pollen only reaches its sticky
maturity by early evening, bees and butterflies are rarely caught. The
moth is held prisoner until bright warm sunshine cause the pollen
masses to dry and crumble enabling the moth to break free. Enough
remains firmly glued onto its proboscis so that when the next flower is
visited, particles are deposited on the stigma thereby initiating
pollination. It works very well in warm climates, but when the weather
turns cooler in the UK, the flowers don't dry out sufficiently and the
moths remain firmly stuck, only to be picked off by appreciative birds
or until they die of exhaustion.
Aye, nature raw in tooth, claw ... and flo'er?