Botanical Family Commelinaceae
Bloom Time July – September
Pollen Characteristics
Dispersal Unit Monad
Aperture Number 0-1
Aperture Type Inaperturate
Ornamentation Echinate
Tectum Eutectate
Size (um)
Shape Oval
Pollen Color Yellow, Blue, Brown
Honey Bee Resources
Pollen Source
Nectar Source
The pollen from Commelina communis is polymorphic, meaning that the pollen, and often the anthers as well, come in different colors. In this case, Commelina has yellow, blue, or brown anthers and pollens (Willner 2011). Commelina communis has sterile, or fodder pollen, as well as fertile pollen, and these different types of pollen can have different colors even on the same flower head.
Sources
Willmer, P. (2011). Pollination and floral ecology. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Lunau, K. (1995). Notes on the colour of pollen. Plant Systematics and Evolution, 198(3/4), 235-252. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23642852
The Anther's Promise 