Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Pollinators

The holly bushes are in bloom and attracting lots of pollinators.
 Yellow jacket Wasp


Bumblebee

Did you know that there are male and female holly bushes?  The female bush is the one that produces the red berries, but only if they are fertilized with pollen from a male holly bush.  You need at least one male shrub in the vicinity of any number of female shrubs in order to get the pretty red berries.

The best way to determine the sex of a holly bush is by looking at the flowers.  Both male and female flowers have four petals, so that doesn't help.  But, it is the center of the flower that makes the difference.  The male flower center has 4 yellow stamens.

Holly Bush (Male)

The female flower center has a green ovary (green bump).

Holly Bush (female)




No comments:

Post a Comment