August-September 2022 • Nebraskaland 39
outward from the fl ower. When the
duped insects visit another fl ower, this
pollen is transferred to a single female,
pollen-receiving stigma found at the
tip of a long fi lament that extends
between the two fertile anthers. While
pollination is complete, the insects are
still hungry.
The dayfl owers' deceptive fl owers
are just one of the plant kingdom's
many unique fl oral designs to ensure
pollination and survival on this
remarkable planet called Earth.
N
Cousins of the dayfl owers, spiderwort fl owers have retained three showy petals
and six fertile, yellow anthers.
RIGHT: Early one July morning in the
author's garden, a common dayfl ower
blossom emerges from the leafy bract
enclosing the fl ower head. Above the
fresh bloom, the previous day's fl ower
sits withered.
A Botanical
Jokester
The 18th
century
Swedish
botanist
Carl
Linnaeus
bestowed
dayflowers
with the
genus name Commelina in
honor of his friends: the
Dutch family Commelin. One
version of the story states
that the flowers' two bright
blue petals represent the
families' renowned botanists:
Jan and his nephew Caspar.
The third small, colorless
petal represents Jan's brother
Casparus, who was merely a
book seller and newspaper
publisher. Linnaeus deserves
credit as this is about as
good as botanical humor
gets, excluding, of course, the
classic joke about the rabbi,
the priest and the botanist.
CARL LINNAEUS