Word of the day: "cleistogamous"

Viola adunca, June 13, 2023

Common & scientific name

Blue violet, Viola adunca

Family

Violet, Violaceae

Location

Ridge above Turkey, 11,000’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

As lovely as violets are, they do not rely on pollinators as their primary means of reproduction. Rather, certain of a violet plant’s flowers don’t develop pollinator-attracting attributes, never open, and stay underground or emerge only after their seeds mature into fruits. Such self-fertilizing flowers are “cleistogamous.

June 16, Linkins Lake Trail, 11,700’