Forget flowers: These ancient plants attract pollinators by getting hot

Beetles (<em>Rhopalotria furfuracea</em>) visit a male cone of the cycad plant <em>Zamia furfuracea</em>, whose cones produce heat during pollination.

While many modern plants use colorful flowers to attract pollinators, ancient palm-like plants called cycads lure them by heating up and glowing in the infrared.

(Image credit: Michael Calonje)



from NPR Topics: News https://ift.tt/MD0BURV

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