sunflowers

The secret ultraviolet colours of sunflowers attract pollinators and preserve water

The secret ultraviolet colours of sunflowers attract pollinators and preserve water

Finally, we noticed that sunflower populations from drier climates had consistently larger UV bullseyes. One of the known functions of flavonol glycosides is to regulate transpiration. Indeed, we found that ligules with large UV patterns (which contain large amounts of flavonol glycosides) lost water at a much slower rate than ligules with small UV patterns.