Red Spot On The Tip Of Nose

COLORS OF FLOWERS, A result of evolution

Orchid Collection Mrs. Ileana Terán in his garden in the Hacienda La Laguna. Photo of Guillermo Chaves.

One of the characteristics of the plants which seduce us, and we enjoyed tremendously, is the amazing diversity of forms of flowers and colors . Flower structure is sexual reproduction of plants, and is one of the most beautiful expressions of sexuality that exist in nature. (As Burle Marx once said.) This great diversity of shapes and colors product million years of plant evolution.

Some 130 million years emerged an important group of plants that are adapted to a form of sexual reproduction hitherto most sophisticated in-plant: the flower . The plants that evolved the way they reproduce through flowers are called "angiosperms" that comes from the Greek words to describe "Receptacle" and "seed". Unlike conifers that produce seeds in open cones, angiosperms contain their own in a container or fruit. This is the hallmark of a large group of plants comprising more than 235 000 species. Out of nowhere come forcefully displacing many other species to reach a prevalence of 95% of current terrestrial plants. (1)

Orchid Collection Mrs. Ileana Terán in his garden in the Hacienda La Laguna. Photo of Guillermo Chaves.

if compressed geological time in the history of the planet in an hour, flowering plants have appeared in the last 90 seconds. Once seated, 100 million years ago, rapidly diversified in an explosion of different varieties. Currently, species with flowers 20 times more numerous than the ferns and conifers, which had thrived without objection by 200 million years before the first flowers appear. (2)

predecessor species of angiosperms as ferns and conifers were other forms of reproduction, leaving the pollen was carried by wind or water (passive pollination), a method with a lot of waste. These plants fell as a result of evolutionary pressure of the last major plant colonization, made up of flowering plants, which have ovary and produce fruit. These began to dominate with an unstoppable drive that has continued to grow, establishing new relationships, mutually beneficial adaptations animals and plants.

A tree fern in the Reserve Monteverde, Costa Rica. One of primitive plants that were displaced by the new generation of flowering plants. Photo by Guillermo Chaves.

insects to go to these plants in the pollen found a high protein source, since a pollen sample yields values \u200b\u200bbetween 15 and 35% protein, and indirectly helped to transport it. This system will prove more efficient than pollination by air or anemophily . plants need a pollinator vector or reliable, which carry pollen to another flower or plant of the same species. This mechanism was the beginning of a type of mutualism only possible by association, in which the plant provides some kind of reward for the insect carries pollen. This triggers the diversification of both exponential factors involved.

Genealogy of angiosperms

Throughout the 1990s, discoveries of fossilized flowers in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America have provided the paleobotanical important clues about how and when did these plants and at the same time, the field of genetics has introduced new search tools. Also have been proved with current findings of the thesis and many hypotheses put forward by Darwin and his contemporaries. (3)

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Angraecum_sesquipedale02.jpg

In 1862, Darwin predicted that a jungle orchid with long, deep flower ( sesquipedale of Angraecum , also known as Darwin's orchid), would be pollinated by a moth with an equally long tongue. Such an insect was discovered in 1903 in Madagascar, and named Praedict morganii of Xanthopanpero, but not actually observed pollinating the orchid until 1997. " Praedict " was given in honor of the fact that Darwin predicted their existence.

Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace , another pioneer of the theory of evolution, proposed that flowers and pollinators engage each other in a evolutionary race. Alfred Wallace, a contemporary of Darwin, theorized that the colors of the flowers appeared progressively in the parts that were beginning to adapt to a particular method of pollination. According to his hypothesis, how a plant was more attractive to insects, increases the rate of visits and therefore their success in seed production. This process of natural selection evolved together with insects, birds and other agents, developing new ways to reward and variety of shapes and colors depending on the methods of animal attraction. This process is called coevolution and virtually is represented on each flowering plant and its pollinators.

Many plants have evolved with their pollinators creating complex relationships between them. Likewise, the animals adapted their bodies to fit certain plant species. Plants have always had to face the disadvantage of being food for many species, others were added which are seasonal, some meet their cycle in one year. Left to the plant kingdom does the dispersal of seeds and spores fertile further away better for having no new shoots competing with their parents, hence the importance of the emergence of the pigments in this pattern of reproduction.

Studies by the colors of flowers, a coloring Progressive Law was proposed by Alfred Wallace. This suggested that the petals, which were adapted from the estates (male sex organ) were yellow flowers in early, as some Asteraceae, which are open to single flowers pollinated by many insects. The "water crowfoot" (Ranunculus peltatus ) has white petals with yellow at the base, is adapted to aquatic insect pollination.

Ranunculus peltatus http://www.wildflowersofireland.net/plant_detail.php?id_flower=308&wildflower=Water-crowfoot,% 20Pond

peony-red flowers have ovaries hidden and are pollinated by birds and insects sensitive to long wavelengths of light. Blue flowers such as columbine (Aquilegia caerula ) are highly specialized, have the nectar hidden deep within its sloping sides, and these attract insects with long "tongues." This theory is verified with the new technological tools. (4)

Aquilegia caerula ~ Morgan/images/scenery/colorado/blue_lakes/html/bl01-columbine.html http://sepwww.stanford.edu/

molecular biology, recent development has drawn the genealogy of angiosperms. The results to date indicate that there is a living plant lineage the oldest has been dated, dates back 130 million years , belongs to the family Amborellaceae . Includes only one known species, the Amborella Trichopoda . This living fossil is found only in New Caledonia in the Pacific South. Famous among botanists for its primeval flora. The family of amboreláceas consists of a single genus and has a single species. The distinctive feature of angiosperms, the male and female reproductive organs are placed in the same flower, is not present in this ancient species. (5)

In Amborella male organs (which produce pollen) and female (carpels containing seeds) are placed in separate flowers. This is a feature very rare if we consider that the ancestors of the genus had their reproductive organs in the same flower.

Menúfares in Kew Gardens, a very primitive plant lineage. Photo by Guillermo Chaves.

The following are the most ancient species of ninfeáceas (water lilies) and iliac (star anise). The magnolia boast an ancient lineage that goes back more than 100 million years old in the fossil record. The magnolia flower produces no nectar, but rather a scent that attracts the beetles that pollinate it and red seeds attract birds that disperse. Were mutualisms between plants and their insect pollinators, which had an important effect during the evolution of terrestrial biodiversity today. (Ramírez, Santiago)

beetles were among the first insects involved in pollination, and have a very poor light plants such as magnolias and water lilies, which had the beetles for pollination its flowers tend to be large, showy, white and strongly scented. The beetles have triumphed over nearly 300 million years. The success of your survival had been attributed to herbivorous nutrition and the emergence of flowering plants in the Cretaceous period, which began about 140 million years. However, we now know that many modern beetle lineages appeared before the first flowering plants. What has happened is that they have displayed an exceptional ability to lifestyle and diet. (6) The first floral pollination syndromes emerged since then. The fossils of beetles and flies suggest that they should have acted as pollinators to verify that the intestinal contents, the mouthparts and wing structure show adaptations. (7).

Plants "carníboras" in Kew Gardens. Photo by Guillermo Chaves

Flies have short tongues are more sensitive to long wavelengths. The flowers that attract them are easy to reach and tend to be white, green, red or yellow. Are not as good adaptations for pollination as honeybees are not as hairy and have no organs for pollen transport, but in some cases carried out pollination. The new techniques to unravel the genomic sequences allowed to begin to know the characteristics of genes and genomes involved in the diversification of species and its ability to adapt to new habitats. (8)

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Eristalis_arbustorum_2.jpg

The beetles and flies were the first you pollinators, ie the pollination floral syndrome was well established when they emerged wasps and bees. (9)

Wasps gave rise to the honey bee , but they were carnivorous, but during the process of evolutionary divergence in the domain of angiosperms are beginning to see changes in their eating habits because of the abundance of vegetable protein that was available from this era. Wasps turned their diet from eating insects to pollen. The use of pollen for the same purpose could be through consumption of insects wasps visiting the flowers were covered with pollen. Some species of insects are clear examples of coadaptation specialized eg wasps visiting orchids Ophris and wasps that pollinate figs and many other singular. (9) The wasps preferred small flowers and pink or red.

Photo Guillermo Chaves

Bee oldest known fossil (found in amber in Burma and described in 2006) belongs to the Early Cretaceous , very primitive characters which relate it to the wasps. It was called Melittosphex burmensis and an estimated age is about 100 million years. (9). With the emergence of the bee arises specialist in floral pollination that involved the adaptive radiation ( process that describes the rapid speciation of one or more species to fill many ecological niches ) plants angiosperms.

Photo Guillermo Chaves

bees appear in nature as a specialist insect pollination is more efficient since the predecessor species. Bees developed specializations or adaptations that led them to be more efficient pollinators of flowers. (10) estimated one third of human food are pollinated by insects, mainly bees. Bees are insensitive to red and prefer blue flowers, purple or yellow. The bees have eyes sensitive to blue and ultraviolet, with a maximum sensitivity at that wavelength. Difficulty perceive red, red flowers, bees are visiting because they reflect the ultraviolet light that they can see. A large number of flowers pollinated by bees are characterized by possess a kind of "color scheme" marked by the absence of UV in certain areas and is present in others, patterns that guide insects for nectar to the anthers and thus enable them to carry pollen to other flowers. (11) words, the flowers have ultraviolet nectar guides.

bees and ants are a specialized form of its predecessor, the wasp .

Ants belong to the order of Hymenoptera with bees and wasps. They are social insects, visit flowers frequently and suck nectar. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous , made between 110 and 130 million years, diversified after the expansion of the flowering plants . There are several factors that are common plant species pollinated by ants, for example, occur in highly specialized niches, primarily in two areas: the deserts Mediterranean climate, where the vegetation is characterized by inconspicuous flowers (flowering inconspicua ), which does not distract ants that pollinate plants. There are also flowers high mountains where other pollinators are absent vectors adverse environmental conditions. Plants provide protection to the ant and it benefits from a sedentary lifestyle and social behavior. (12) The flowers that attract flies its colors mimic rotting flesh and foul odors.

small bats that make their work of pollination in the night, the flowers have faded colors, strong aroma and abundant nectar.

Photo of William H. Chaves

Moths appear on the earth between 150 and 75 million years ago, coexisting with the large dinosaurs. The day however, evolved from the night, appearing around some 48 million years, as has been dated by the study of primitive fossil found. (13) There are over 150,000 known species of Lepidoptera, only 10% are butterflies, the rest are moths or moths. Butterflies can not focus your eyes so blue just see, this is because the eyes of butterflies are structures large ball composed of thousands of ommatidia (tiny sensor) is hexagonal. Each directed at an angle slightly different from the others. Butterflies are able to see in virtually all directions simultaneously but can only distinguish the color of a very thin strip of the light spectrum. Although the motion capture and if it is night or day. Butterflies are attracted by the colors yellow and red but pollinating species vary in the range of the spectrum that ranges from pink to blue. Moths do not rely on color as attractive as the flowers are usually white or pale colors.

Photo Guillermo Chaves

Birds are a special case: they have a refined sense of sight, the birds are as different colors lengths ultraviolet wavelengths. Ultraviolet cones make the vision of birds is tetracrómatas more sophisticated than the human being who is trichromatic. Humans possess three types of cones sensitive to red, green and blue. The birds not only see these colors, but the ultraviolet, and other colors that can not even imagine. (14)

Especially in the tropics, birds with insects assume the task of getting pollen, these species have a high metabolism and need more nectar that some of the most voracious insects, so visit hundreds of flowers. The flowers are adapted to poor sense of smell and excellent vision of the color of honey birds, birds and hummingbirds day and usually are colored according to the sensitivity of the spectrum of birds: red is the most common, then the orange , yellow, blue, purple, white and cream. Plants began to produce nectar and other products as part of its chemical reactions and offer it as food for visitors, this interaction was generated a greater interdependence, and the color of the flowers began to become more specialized. evolution has also produced new species of insects and birds attracted by new varieties of flowers. So surprise us so much diversity. Also admire other adaptations of the flowers that provide guidance for pollinators, such as the presence of spots, growths, or nectar guides are used to distinguish high contrast foliage flowers. (15)

Photo of Ricardo Chaves

As we can see colors, shapes and aromas of the flowers are the result of a process of millions of years of evolution, where natural selection has acted on organisms and has diversified so that today we have not even finished identifying all that vastness. More favorable characteristics with respect to their environment were the key to ensuring their offspring, be unique and have a single strategy is what makes the world we now have a "mega-diverse." Obviously, humans have come to have a partial understanding of all this complexity. Although we believe that our visual system is on the cusp of the evolutionary success and that our perception is superior to any living being, but the truth is that we are only one link in the evolution and as we know this process is just beginning.