Getting bees hooked on flowers with nicotine

While some researchers have been busy developing a possible vaccine to help humans beat their nicotine cravings, others have been getting bumblebees addicted to the stuff. But the experiment wasn't just an exercise in getting the bees buzzed, it was an investigation into whether or not the drug could influence the insects' ability to learn the color of flowers. Hint: It can.

They sure do love their bumblebees over at Queen Mary University of London. Researchers there have previously taught the pollinators how to push a ball around a playing field, and pull a string to get food rewards. In a further demonstration of how a creature with a brain about the size of a pin head can be trained to execute particular behaviors, researchers there used nicotine-laced nectar on artificial flowers to see if they could get the creatures to show a preference for one color over another.

So they laced blue flowers with a plain sugar solution and purple flowers with a sugar solution containing nicotine. They then set 60 different bees lose in their artificial garden to see how they behaved. Sure enough, the bees showed a clear preference for the nectar that was doped with nicotine in the purple flowers. Interestingly though, the bees were repelled by the nicotine-containing flowers if the concentration of the chemical was too high.

The researchers then reversed things: They laced the blue flowers with the nicotine solution and the purple flowers with the plain nectar. The bees continued to fixate on the purple flowers however, showing that they had associated the color with the reward, even if they could get a nicotine buzz by visiting the other flowers (pin-head-sized brain, remember?).

"Flowers typically reward pollinators 'honestly' with rewards such as sweet nectar, but nature's trick box is endlessly resourceful, said professor Lars Chittka from QMUL's School of Biological and Chemical Sciences. "Some plant species gain an unfair advantage over competing species by spiking their nectar with addictive substances, such as nicotine in tobacco flowers."

While the experiment might seem a bit obvious – of course bees would prefer a buzz-bringing solution over plain sugar water – the researchers say it opens the door to wide range of future studies analyzing ways in which plants might outcompete each other for the attentions of insects that can spread their pollen.

"I am convinced that what we found with this study is just the tip of the iceberg," said co-author David Baracchi who is now based at the University of Toulouse in France. "Plants may have hundreds of metabolites in their nectars and it is possible that many of them have to some degree similar psychoactive properties."

Enjoy These Flowers

A flower is a part of a plant that forms pollen or seeds or both. Only seed-bearing plants have true flowers. Other plants like the algae, fungi, and mosses have none. And, only those parts of a plant which have to do with the forming of seeds are parts of the flower.

The bright colors, sweet smell, and nectar are necessary to attract insects. The insects are needed to help the flower make seeds that will grow into a new plant.

A person, who thinks of a flower simply as something brightly colored which grows on a plant, may be led far astray. The brilliant scarlet poinsettia blossoms which one sees at Christmas are not true flowers, but simply brilliantly colored leaves which surround the small and dull flowers at the tip of the cluster. Similarly, the large creamy “petals” of the lovely dogwood “blossoms” that bloom in spring are not petals at all but simply brightly colored bracts surrounding the small inconspicuous flowers. In the callas that are used so much at Easter, the great white sheath is not a single flower but a bract or leaf which surrounds and protects a club-shaped mass on which many small flowers are tightly crowded together.

Thus, many of the bright, showy parts of plants which are commonly called “flowers” are not true flowers in the strict sense. On the other hand, there are many true flowers which are seldom noticed at all, or if they are, not considered as flowers. For example, the bearded tufts at the tips of grasses, the heads of cattails, the unripe ears of corn and the small tassels that somewhat resemble certain caterpillars and hang from birches and alders early in spring, are all clusters” of real flowers.

The flower is a branch with very special kinds of leaves. The outermost ones are called sepals. They are usually green; sometimes they are separate one from another, sometimes they are not separate and form a cup. When the flower buds are small, they serve as a protective covering. All together, they are known as the calyx. Next inside the sepals are the petals, known all together as the corolla. The petals may be separate from one another, as in the buttercup, or they may be partially united, as in the tomato, or form a broad flaring trumpet, as in the petunia. Petals are the brightest parts of most flowers. The most important parts, however, are not the brightly colored petals, but the pistils and stamens. Many flowers contain both—the pistil or pistils in the center, surrounded by the stamens. Pistils are often greenish in color. In an enlarged part at the lower end of the pistil (the ovary) are the ovules. In the sweet pea the ovary is long and hairy; in it are ten or more ovules arranged in two rows. Each ovule may grow into a seed. The most important part of an ovule is a tiny egg cell, which can be seen only under a microscope. From this egg cell a new plant may grow.

Some plants have more stamens than others. Each stamen is made of a pollen sac (anther) at the end of a stalk (filament). Before they are ripe they are smooth. Later they open by slits or tiny holes and release the pollen, which they contain as a fine dust, usually yellow. These pollen grains are just as important as the ovules in the production of seed. They produce the sperm cells which unite with the egg cells in the ovules. After a sperm cell has united with an egg cell, the product is called an embryo. From this embryo the new plant will grow. But before an embryo can be formed, the pollen grains must be transferred from the anthers to the pistil, and eventually to the egg. This transfer of pollen is called pollination.

Most Beautiful Flowers Photography

　　
Most Beautiful Flowers Photography 　　Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into. ~Henry Beecher, Life Thoughts, 1858
Flowers are not only a sign of beauty but also of beautiful fragrance. Today i have gathered some of the most beautiful Flower photography by various photographers. These are very colorful and of different types. Hope you enjoy them.
To go to the original source Click on the image. All images are properly linked back to their original sources.

The beautiful flowers in the sun

　　
　　Supplied © Enlarge photo
There is nothing like the beauty and fragrance provided by fresh flowers cut straight from the garden.
Samantha Turner, from Garden Elegance in Subiaco, said that as well as providing a readily available supply of beautiful blooms, another advantage of growing your own cut flowers was that your supply could vary with the seasons, depending on what you decided to plant.
So which plants are best to provide fabulous floral displays? We asked the experts for their recommendations.
ROSES:
Robbie Melville, manager of Melville Nurseries in Carmel, said roses were ever-popular because they were inexpensive and provided beautiful perfume and flowers for 10 months of the year (from September through until July).
Hybrid tea roses were the best for cut flowers.
"Kardinal, which is a red rose, is probably the longest-lasting cut rose and will give two weeks in a vase if looked after properly," Mr Melville said.
BULBS:
Lorraine Hoglin, general manager of fresh flower wholesaler Everbloom Flowers, agreed that roses were a great option for cut flowers but when they were not flowering, bulbs would just about be ready to bloom.
"Daffodils, iris and freesia are good to plant," she said. "These can be planted in the same area as the roses and only need to be pulled up every second year and divided; they are dormant when the roses are flowering.
EVERLASTINGS:
WA is famous for its stunning spring wildflowers, which also make for gorgeous floral arrangements.
Waldecks' Hilton Blake said Bracteantha bracteata, or everlasting daisies, were easy to grow, and also recommended Lucinda's Everlastings seeds (available from Waldecks Garden Centres), which could be simply scattered in autumn.
"Ten grams of Lucinda's Everlastings will produce a 10sqm carpet of the magnificent flowers in spring," he said.
"The cut everlasting in a vase will last a month or so but the flowers can be hung upside down in a dark, airy position to dry and used as a dried flower for the entire year."
PLANTING TIP: "Everlastings are so easy to grow that they will almost grow anywhere, but an open sunny position will give you the most amazing display of colour," Mr Blake said.
SWEET PEAS:
Ms Turner recommended sweet peas for their ease of growing and beautiful colours.
Sweet peas were available in dwarf varieties growing up to 40cm, or traditional, which could grow to more than a metre.
"Small ones are ideal to grow in a pot," she said.
"Sow the seeds in autumn in a full sun position, making sure the taller varieties have support.
"This doesn't have to be fancy because the peas will cover it.
"Sow in autumn to have flowers in spring."
PLANTING TIP: Ms Turner said sweet peas may benefit from a little dolomite lime dug into the ground at planting if the soil is not already alkaline.
KANGAROO PAWS:
Ms Turner said kangaroo paws made for great cut flowers because they were long lasting.
There was also the choice of planting dwarf or large-stemmed varieties, depending on how big you wanted your flower arrangements.
"The Big Red is large and gets to about a metre, or for dwarfs, Bush Gems are smaller and available in lots of colours including yellow, red and violet," she said.
Flowering from early spring, kangaroo paws were best planted during winter in full sun.

Life like a flower bright beautiful

　　

　　Waking Up by *ReachForTheStarfish

　　


Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into. ~Henry Beecher, Life Thoughts, 1858
Flowers are not only a sign of beauty but also of beautiful fragrance. Today i have gathered some of the most beautiful Flower photography by various photographers. These are very colorful and of different types. Hope you enjoy them.

Flowers. by ~spacedude89

　 Red_tulip by ~Boui34
To go to the original source Click on the image. All images are properly linked b

ack to their original sources.

Flowers Gifts

Flowers are one of the best gifts that we give to our close ones and numbers of Online Florist have made this work a lot easier and comfortable. The most important thing one looks when one buys flowers is their freshness and this quality is never compromised when customers buy them online. Services like Flowers Home Delivery have made online flower shops a much popular way of buying them. It is easy and the buyer is not required to move an inch from their place. As flowers are most preferred gifts for all occasions like anniversaries, birthdays and weddings Florist Home Delivery have gained a huge reputation for delivering flowers at the desired place and within the stipulated time. The customer just needs to order the type of flowers and the number they want. At the same time, they need to give the details about the place where flowers are supposed to be delivered. After completing this process, one just needs to click on the button named Send Flowers Online to finish the whole process. The rates of the flowers are mentioned per bud and Florist Delivery charges are taken at a very nominal rate. Taking everything into consideration, the whole system gives a lot of advantage to the customers.

These online Flowers Home Delivery shops also deliver flowers to far and distant places as per the demand of the customer. For this service, they may charge something extra but over all it comes out quite economical. Exciting anyone with surprise flower delivery on any special occasion is one of the best ways to show the emotions for the concerned person and how much you care for them. These online flower shops also provide their customers with services like different types of Flowers Bouquet. They can have a mix of number of flowers with all the required decoration but all such services depend on the wants of the customer. Exclusive Roses Bouquets is an elite service offered by these flower shops. This service is very much in demand on occasions like Valentines Day, rose day etc. One can also view the samples of pre made bouquets on the websites of such shops. It is best to get an idea from such samples and then order the desired bouquet for yourself. Through the year, there are occasions and for every occasion there is some special set of flowers offered by these online flower shops. On bulk buying and during festive season these shops offer discounts too.
When sending a gift to anyone, the most important consideration other than freshness of flowers is the delivery on time. This aspect is also a vital point to judge the service of any online flower shop. In urgency, sometime people require Flowers Same Day Delivery and this is one of the features of online flower shops that have attracted people to avail this service repeatedly. Another facility that these online shops provide is Flowers Midnight Delivery that cannot be rendered by market shops. As people can order and delivery at anytime is also possible because of online flower shops.

Flowers In Alcatraz

I'm walking with Carola Ashford past a bank of fuchsias so extravagantly purple and red, they stun the eye. "The funny thing is," she says, "my college major was criminology."
Ashford does not study crime now. She is a landscape architect who restores historical gardens. But her college career overlaps with this particular garden, belonging as it does to the most famous prison in the world, Alcatraz.
Maybe, like me, you were not aware that Alcatraz had gardens. Every year 1.3 million of us visit the Rock. But mostly we go to savor a safe dose of mayhem. We want the illicit thrills you get from stories of Al Capone and hidden shivs and hard time done a long time ago.

Alcatraz has a gentler history, though, and that is what Ashford is trying to recover. In the beginning, the Rock was a rock, bleakly barren. But the human urge to improve any patch of ground is strong. As soon as dirt was barged in for Army gun emplacements in the late 1800s, plants were grown on the island. For a century more, through the island's career as a military prison and its more infamous incarnation as a federal penitentiary, gardens bloomed on Alcatraz clifftops and beneath the glowering concrete walls.
Gardening stopped in the 1960s, when the penitentiary closed. Even after Alcatraz became part of Golden Gate National Parks, the gardens were abandoned to ivy and blackberry. In 2003, the nonprofit Garden Conservancy, working with the National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, decided to bring Alcatraz back into flower.
"The first time I visited," Ashford tells me, "I looked at all the ivy and thought, I can't do this." But she and her team scoured historical records and interviewed members of the Alcatraz Alumni Association ― officers and their families ― to discover what the gardens had looked like in their prime. Volunteers removed debris. "Once we cleared out the overgrowth," Ashford says, "bulbs started coming out. They had been hidden 40 years. But when they saw the light of day, they bloomed."
Stories bloomed too. Any good garden requires an obsessive gardener. Alcatraz had these. One was Freddie Reichel, who worked as secretary to the warden in the 1940s. At first, Ashford explains, Reichel regarded the gardens as a burden. Then he took up the challenge of finding plants that would survive Alcatraz's fog and wind. He corresponded with garden experts and, following their suggestions, planted bush poppies, succulents, and blue-flowered pride of Madeira. Says Ashford, "He ended up a fervent horticulturalist."
The work changed prisoner Elliott Michener too. Ashford takes me to the west side of the island, where the convicted counterfeiter created terraced plantings that would have done a Pacific Heights mansion proud. "He built a birdbath, a greenhouse," Ashford tells me. "It was just incredible. A showplace."
This is the world Ashford and her crews are bringing back. So far they've restored two of the island's gardens; Michener's will be completed over the next three years. We stand admiring it as it is now, a beautiful wreck beneath an ivy veil. Long after he had been released from Alcatraz, Michener wrote that his garden "provided a refuge from disturbances of the prison.… This one thing I would do well."