Sunday, May 6, 2012

How doth the busy little bee


How doth the little busy Bee
     Improve each shining Hour,
And gather Honey all the day
     From every opening Flower!

Cactus flowers are pollinated in a variety of ways. For example, the saguaro is pollinated by the Mexican Long Nosed Bat in addition to birds and insects. Since the flowers are only open for a day or so at the most, pollination must take place quickly. Once pollinated, the flowers close, dry up and fall off, leaving the seed pod or fruit. If you are used to flowers that last for days or weeks, you may entirely miss seeing the cactus flowers. 

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