Helicodiceros
Dead horse arum lily | |
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Illustration from Louis van Houtte's Flore des serres et des jardins de l'Europe (1849) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Alismatales |
Family: | Araceae |
Subfamily: | Aroideae |
Tribe: | Areae |
Genus: | Helicodiceros Schott |
Species: | H. muscivorus
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Binomial name | |
Helicodiceros muscivorus | |
Range of Helicodiceros muscivorus in Europe | |
Synonyms[1] | |
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Helicodiceros muscivorus, the dead horse arum lily,[2][3] is an ornamental plant native to Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearic Islands. It is the only species in the genus Helicodiceros.[1][4][5] Within the family Araceae the plant is part of the subfamily Aroideae.
The flowers of H. muscivorus smell like rotting meat, attracting carrion-seeking
Description
The
Thermogeny
The dead horse arum manipulates the heat to release an odor that lures the flies to the structure of the appendix of the flower to begin pollination. This odor is a strong, putrid smell, its composition has a similarity to a real carcass, which flies are not able to distinguish from a real carcass. Blow flies, such as the common green bottle fly (
Pollination
The dead horse arum has a two-day process for pollination. The individual flower is able to receive pollen for one day only, and usually that day its male parts are not mature. Although the male part is able to produce pollen the next day, the female part shrivels up and cannot receive it. Both these mechanisms favor pollination from another plant and discourage self-pollination.[7] When ready to pollinate, the plant produces its own heat and generates a smell like rotting flesh. This smell attracts the blow flies into the chamber of the plant for pollination. Once the flies are inside, they are trapped in the chamber by spines that block the exit path.[9] The flies, which are carrying pollen from previous visits to other flowers, cover the female floret with that pollen, as they try to find a place to lay their eggs. The flies remain trapped overnight, and the spines remain erect until the male florets at the entrance of the chamber start producing pollen, by which time the female florets are no longer receptive. At this point, the spines wilt and the flies are able to leave. Just as the flies leave, they have to pass through the male florets and are coated with pollen that they will transport to another plant.[12] Some blowflies, such as Calliphora vomitoria, are known pollinators.
Gallery
References
- ^ a b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ^ H. muscivorus at International Plant Names Index
- ^ D. crinitus at Lemaire, Charles. Flore des serres et des jardins de l’Europe (1849) Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ S. Castroviejo et al. (eds.) (2008). Flora Iberica 18: 1-420. Real Jardín Botánico, CSIC, Madrid.
- ^ Altervista Flora Italiana, Gigaro mangiamosche, Helicodiceros muscivorus (L. Fil.) Engler
- PMID 15101405.
- ^ a b Stensmyr, Marcus C., et al. “Pollination: Rotting Smell of Dead- Horse Arum Florets.” Nature 420.6916 (2002): 625-6.
- ^ a b R, S., Seymour, M., Gibernau., and S.A Pirintsos. (2009), Thermogenesis of three species of Arum from Crete. Plant, Cell & Environment, 32:1467-1476.doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3040.2009.02015.x. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/do/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2009.02015.x/full
- ^ a b c Angioy, A. M., Stensmyr, M. C., Urru, I., Puliafito, M., Collu, I., and Hansson, B.S., Function of the heater; The dead horse arum revisited. 7 February 2004 doi:101098/rsbl.2003.0111Proc.R.Soc.Lond.B 7 February 2004 vol.271.n0.Suppl 3 S13-S15.http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/271/Suppl_3/S13.short
- ^ thermogenicinflorescence of the dead horse arum Helicodiceros muscivorus. J. Exp. Bot. (2003) 54(384): 1113-1114.doi: 10.1093/jxb/erg 115. http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/content/54/384/1114.short[permanent dead link]
- PMID 26717311.
- ^ R. S., Seymour, M., Gibernau., K. Ito. Thermogenesis and respiration of inflorescences of the dead horse arum Helicodiceros muscivorus, a pseudo-thermoregulatory aroid associated with fly pollination.11 Dec 2003.DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2003.00802.x. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2003.00802.x/full
External links
- Media related to Helicodiceros at Wikimedia Commons
- Araceum: Helicodiceros muscivorus page
- Telebotanica.org: Helicodiceros muscivorus photo
- Pacific Bulb Society: Helicodiceros muscivorus
- Dead Horse Arum (with pictures and video) on www.realmonstrosities.com