Image of the Day: Flower in a Mushroom Suit

Scientists discover the real pollinators of a popular houseplant flower.


Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share

An Aspidistra elatior flower blooming in its native habitat in Kuroshima, Japan KOBE UNIVERSITYThe houseplant Aspidistra eliator is often known as the “cast iron plant” because it is so sturdy. In the wild, it is indigenous to the southern Japanese island of Kuroshima, where its fleshy flowers bloom in a strikingly mushroom-like fashion: half-buried in the earth and covered in leaf litter. It was previously thought that the flowers are pollinated by slugs and amphipods, but now scientists from Japan have found that it is mainly pollinated by fungus gnats. They believe that it has evolved its mushroom-like appearance in order to adapt to this unusual species of pollinator.

K. Suetsugu & M. Sueyoshi, “Subterranean flowers of Apsidistra eliator are mainly pollinated by not terrestrial amphipods but fungus gnats,” Ecology, doi:10.1002/ecy.2021, 2017.

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo
New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

Sino

Products

Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide

Explore a Concise Guide to Optimizing Viral Transduction

A Visual Guide to Lentiviral Gene Delivery

Takara Bio
Inventia Life Science

Inventia Life Science Launches RASTRUM™ Allegro to Revolutionize High-Throughput 3D Cell Culture for Drug Discovery and Disease Research

An illustration of differently shaped viruses.

Detecting Novel Viruses Using a Comprehensive Enrichment Panel

Twist Bio