Stylidium tenellum

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iStylidium tenellum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Stylidiaceae
Genus: Stylidium
Species: S. tenellum
Binomial name
Stylidium tenellum
R. Br.

Stylidium tenellum, a triggerplant, is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the genus Stylidium (family Stylidiaceae). S. tenellum is one of the few triggerplants that is not endemic to Australia. It is native only to Myanmar, Melaka, and Tonkin.[1]

Pollination is achieved through the use of the sensitive "trigger" (a floral column, in which the stamen and style are fused) that snaps forward quickly in response to touch, covering the insect in pollen. All triggerplants can also be described as being protocarnivorous because the glandular trichomes that are just below the flower can trap and kill small insects, but cannot digest them, unlike a true carnivorous plant.[2] [3]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Good, R. (1925). On the Geographical Distribution of the Stylidiaceae. New Phytologist, 24(4): 225-240.
  2. ^ Erickson, Rica. (1961). An introduction to triggerplants. Australian Plants, 1(9): 15-17. (Available online: HTML)
  3. ^ Darnowski, Douglas W. (2002). Triggerplants. Australia: Rosenberg Publishing.