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Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants. It is produced either by the flowers, in which it attracts pollinating animals or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists providing anti-herbivore protection. It is produced in glands called nectaries.
Nectar is an economically important item, the sugar source for honey. It is also useful in agriculture and horticulture because the adult stages of many predatory insects, as well as hummingbirds and butterflies, feed on nectar.
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Etymology
Nectar is derived from Latin nectar "drink of the gods", which in turn has its origins in the Greek word νέκταρ (néktar), presumed to be a compound of the elements nek- "death" and -tar "overcoming". The earliest recorded use of its current meaning, "sweet liquid in flowers", is 1609.1
Floral nectaries
Floral nectaries are generally located at the base of the perianth, so that pollinators are made to brush the flower's reproductive structures, the anthers and pistil, while accessing the nectar.
Extrafloral nectaries
Nectar produced outside the flower is generally made to attract predatory insects. These predatory insects will eat both the nectar and any plant-eating insects around, thus functioning as 'bodyguards'.2Extrafloral nectaries are generally located on the leaf petioles, mid-rib or leaf margin. They are thought to be modified trichomes and exude nectar from phloem sap. Extrafloral nectaries can be found on species belonging to (amongst others) the genera Salix, Prunus and Gossypium. In many carnivorous plants, nectar serves to attract insect prey.3
Natural components of nectar
Although its main ingredient is fructose or natural sugar, nectar is a brew of many chemicals. For example, the nicotiana attenuata, a tobacco plant native to the US state of Utah, uses several volatile aromas to attract pollinating birds. The strongest such aroma is benzyl acetate, but the plant also adds bitter nicotine, which is non-aromatic and therefore is not detected by the bird until after taking a drink. Researchers speculate the purpose of this addition is to drive the bird away after only a sip, motivating it to visit other plants to fill its hunger. This results in a higher probability of producing pollination of the other plants.4 Presence of neurotoxins such as aesculin are present in some nectars such as the California Buckeye.5
Other Uses of the word
Nectar is the name given to manufactured fruit drinks (Mango Nectar, Pear Nectar, Peach Nectar) and a common drink in Latin American countries.
See also
References
- ^ Douglas Harper. "Online Etymology Dictionary". Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
- ^ Plant-Provided Food for Carnivorous Insects - Cambridge University Press
- ^ Merbach, M. 2001. Nectaries in Nepenthes. In: C.M. Clarke Nepenthes of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu.
- ^ Chemical & Engineering News, Vol. 86 No. 35, 1 Sept. 2008, "Two-Faced Flowers", p. 11
- ^ C.Michael Hogan (2008) Aesculus californica, Globaltwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
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