A flower fit for a bird.

A humming bird that is. If you don't already know this, flowers are cool!!! They seem pick and choose pollinators as they see fit. Although many are pollinated by bees/flies/insects, many are also ONLY bird pollinated. You see, only bird pollinators can see colour, and therefore many of the orange or red flowers that we see are bird pollinated.

Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower), is just one of those flowers. It has a long petal tube that the hummingbird must joust to obtain nectar. As the jousting occurs the white tip (bunch of stamens - boy parts) brushes pollen on the back of its neck. When the humming bird goes to the next flower, and if all the pollen is gone from that flower, the exposed stigma (girl parts hiding below the cluster of stamens) is dappled with pollen from the back of the neck as the humming bird jousts for nectar.

If only hummingbirds would dare visit my urban garden...