Tropical Zone Gardening: ID anybody?, 0 by AlohaHoya

AlohaHoya wrote:
Dave...you are talking about the Strongyledon? Well...I learned a whole lot of things just observing the flowers on a vine of friends of mine who get seedpods all of the time... We must have destroyed hundreds of flowers!!!

Yes, the racime starts blooming from the top .... and then when the new flowers open at the bottom of the racime with all the pollen inside but an unreceptive pistil. (here's the kicker...everyone has been thinking insects or bats)...Then the little Japanese White Eye (a tiny little bird who perches on plants and looks for bugs) flies to the bottom of the racime, pushing his beak into the big flower part looking for bugs. Now, this little bird hops up and up the hanging flowers sampling some of the pollen filled young flowers and pretty soon he is in the older flowers, his beak covered in pollen and as he explores the older flower the pollen comes off on the now receptive pistil.

It blew me out of the water!!!! Now...we have tons of little Japanese White Eye (they have a cool local name...) ... why won't they pollinate my Strongy.?? I figured that the vines they visit are exposed and they dont feel threatened but mine is growing over the top of an old chicken coop and the flowers hang down inside...so they won't go inside to explore mine. Dave, are yours in the open where a bird would feel safe. Now at least we know the pollinator. Birds had been proposed but that idea seemed to be poopoo'd as 'not likely'. HAHA!!! I love solving mysteries!!!

Well...Dave is going to help me hand pollinate my Strongy.