Mandevilla vines and their quirky pollination technique.

Isolated granite outcrops known as Inselbergs are common in the tropics and temperate regions. Mandevilla vines first gained a foothold there, evolving as they adapted to the challenging environments.

Wine red blooms that light up your retina.

Trumpet-shaped flowers, smooth as velvet, display a different approach to pollination.

Intense red flowers with a velvet texture.

Conical-shaped cells cover Mandevilla flower surfaces and disperse light; the resulting gloss reduction contributes to the flowers' velvety appearance. 

Reduced reflected light also highlights the colour released by pigments within the cells. 

In a neat trick of optics, surface cells also bounce light around internally before releasing it; the reflected light is diffuse. 

Insects detect a uniform colour intensity, whatever their approach angle, guiding them to their target.

Not your usual flower structure.

A conical structure replaces the usual arrangement of a pistil with attending stamens.

No sign of a stigma.

Fused at their tips, anthers form a protective dome limiting insect access to pollen grains and the stigma. This arrangement would appear less than ideal for pollination.

Pulled apart to peek inside.

Below the anthers, filaments are very hairy. (pilose, biologists have a word for everything.) The filaments have a part to play.

Sliced open.

Anthers beneath the style head are sterile, they don’t contain pollen grains.