Re: paradoxa f. choschab

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It certainly seems to confuse the bees here - I watched one this
morning land on the standards over and over before finally giving up.
Supposedly many Oncocyclus are pollinated by male bumblebees. The bee
spends the night on the black signal patch, which warms up more
quickly in the morning sun. I imagine paradoxa has taken this strategy
to the extreme, and doesn't bother to attract other pollinators with
showy falls.

It looks like the reduced falls are passed on to paradoxa hybrids as well:
http://wiki.irises.org/bin/view/Ab/AbParvar

Sean Z
SE Michigan

Quoting "Mark A. Cook" <b*@bellsouth.net>:

> Sean,
> The bloom on that plant almost gives the appearance of being upside
> down. Is that what inspired the species name "paradoxa" I wonder?
>
> Mark A. Cook
> b*@bellsouth.net
> Dunnellon, Florida.
>
>
>