Life Science Unit (Book)

Developing Specialized Traits

Relying on an animal to come by is risky. A flower may have to wait a long time for the right animals to come by. What if one never passes close enough to the flower?

Hoping the wind will blow is also risky for a plant. What if the wind does not blow? What if the blowing pollen does not land on another flower? The wind could even blow the pollen over the ocean where it is wasted.

Giving free nectar is costly. It is not a good use of the plant's energy. A plant uses a lot of energy to produce nectar. Some animals may just drink the nectar. They may not carry off any pollen in return. To improve their chances, plants evolved special traits. For example, they developed ways to “hide” their nectar. Only certain animals were able to get at the plant's hidden nectar. These specific animals might be more likely to visit only flowers of the same species. This was also a benefit for some animals. Animals also evolved special traits to get to the nectar. This is called co-evolution of traits.

Two examples of this type of co-evolution are shown in Figure below.

The hummingbird has a long narrow bill. The long narrow bill enables it to reach nectar at the bottom of the tube-shaped flowers. The bat is active at night. Bright white, night-blooming flowers attract it. In each case, the flowering plant and its animal co-evolved. They have become better suited for their roles.