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Date: | Sat, 10 Apr 2021 18:40:10 -0400 |
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Defense compounds in nectar, not just pollen.
Plant toxin levels in nectar vary spatially across native and introduced
populations
*Although floral nectar primarily attracts and rewards pollinating animals,
it may contain secondary compounds that have toxic or deterrent
properties... Surprisingly, so‐called toxic nectar is likely to be
relatively widespread in plants. While this phenomenon was initially known
to occur in ca. 20 phylogenetically diverse families, identification of new
sources has become increasingly frequent... The types of toxins found in
nectar are diverse and include iridoid and cardiac glycosides, toxic or
otherwise deterrent phenolics a variety of alkaloids of indole,
pyrrolizidine, tropane, purine and quinolizidine class and structural
combinations such as diterpene alkaloids.....*
*Floral larcenists include nectar robbers, which damage floral tissues in
their attempts to access nectar, and small‐bodied nectar thieves such as
ants, thrips and pollen beetles – both robbers and thieves can consume
large nectar volumes while rarely if ever providing pollination service *
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2745.12573
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