The Secret Life of Flowers
This project explores the life that behind flowers. From protection to food, flowers have a vital role to play within the natural world as this project reveals.
The Flower Itself
Flowers are crucial for many insects. From giving some hiding spots, to showing off their beautiful colours, to their source of food - nectar. Nectar is relied upon by many insects and the bright colours just direct the insects to that plant. So look out for them next time you are in a garden, or just outside!
Dying Plants
It can be easy to assume that once a flower dies, it has served its purpose and doesn't need to exist anymore. Yet, sometimes hiding in plain sight, other animals can use them as protection. This Jumping Spider, for example, only measures up to 4mm fully grown, will hide in these dead petals to escape predators, and wait for their prey to land in front of them. So having these dead petals creates another habitat that some of us can blissfully walk past.
In Mid Air
Still on the talk of Spiders, their webs create a whole host of intriguing shapes and engineering. This web, for example, is almost a perfect circle. Without the flowers or their stems, these would never have evolved like this.
Sparkling Water
Sparkling in the early morning dawn, these leaves are holding onto a very important resource. Water is one of those liquid we literally cannot live without, and that is the same for plants. Having an early morning mist and dew may seem just very pretty, but this allows water to sit on the plants, and to slowly absorb into the soil.
Snail Power!
Within the trees and deeper within the grasses, this tiny snail started its long climb to the top of this stem. Even when there aren't flowers growing, the stems are still very useful for many reasons - especially for this snail. Being barely 1cm in length, finding a mate and then getting there can be incredibly challenging. Yet, the old and maybe battered stems are a lifeline for these snails. So next time, look out for what uses the apparently 'dead' stems...something small or even unseen may rely on them.