Nesocodon

Nesocodon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Campanulaceae
Genus: Nesocodon
Thulin
Species: N. mauritanus
Binomial name
Nesocodon mauritianus
(I.B.K.Richardson) Thulin

Nesocodon is a monotypic genus of flowering plants within the family Campanulaceae. The sole species is Nesocodon mauritianus, formerly known as Wahlenbergia mauritiana, which is endemic to the island of Mauritius.

It was the first plant ever discovered that produces red-colored nectar, and it is pollinated by birds.[1] The Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) robs it of its nectar.[2]

It is closely related to Heterochaenia from the Mascarene Islands, but has single flowers rather than panicles of several.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Island has the world’s only red nectars. Science News 153(25) 399. June 20, 1998.
  2. ↑ Olesen, J. M., et al. (1998). Mauritian red nectar remains a mystery. Nature 393, 529.
  3. ↑ Jackson, P. S. W. (1990). "Nesocodon Maurianicus: Campanulaceae". Curtis's Botanical Magazine (Blackwell Publishing) 7 (33). doi:10.1111/j.1467-8748.1990.tb00153.x.
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