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Triarch Student Travel Awards

2N D PLACE: BRIG HT COLORS AN D STRONG SCE NTS

R£BECCA POVILUS - 1-IARVARD UNIVERSITY

Flowers of Illicium flo ridanwn are showstoppers, both for eyes and noses. The vivid crimson
of I. florida num flowers distinguishes it from the other North American Illicium species (I.
parviflorwn), which has more demure, pale-yellow flowers. But that's not the only tip-off: flowers
of 1. floridicmum smell like fres h fish. Furthermore, flowers of 1. jiorida nwn are thermogenic,
meani ng that they produce heat though internal, metabolic reactions. Vlarm flowers may help to
make thei r unique scent even stronger and have been hypothesized to provide a cozy retreat for
midges, which are a common pollinator for this species. And perhaps the smelly flowers are not
so surprising after all- ll/icium species around the world are known for their frag rances, whethe r
as pa rt of the flowers, leaves, bark, or fruit (you may have seen and tasted the fruits of the south -
Asian /. verum as the spice star anise).

Family: Scltisandraceae; Taxon: Il-
lici um floridanum; Common Name:
Stink-buslz

3RD PLACE: THE LARGEST POLLINATION EVE TON EARTH
A LAI NA PETLEWSKI- HUMBOLDT STATE UN IVERS ITY

Family: Rosaceae; Taxon: Prunus; An almond tree (Prun us dulcis) in an orchard
Conm1011 Name: Almond outside Visalia, CA being pollinated by a honeybee
(Apis mellifem). Roughly half of all flowering plants
are self-i ncompatible, meaning that fertilization by
gametes originating from the same plant or a close
relative cannot occ ur. The al mond tree (Prtmus
dulcis) is a prime example of a self-incompatible
plant. Pollen must somehow make it from the
stamen ofan almond flower to the stigma ofanother,
u nrelated almond flower. Strictly from a statistical
p oint of view, the likelihood of th is happening
without outside interaction seems slim . So, how
does this potentially delicate system involving a self-
incompatible plant, not pollinated by wind, make up
an $11 billion industry in California? The answer is
simple: honeybees, and lots of them . An estimated 1.6
m illion colonies are required e\·ery year to pollinate
the 790,000 acres of almon d trees in Califo rnia. This
could easily be the largest coordinated pollination
event worldwide.

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