Trees with Insect-pollinated Flowers
Many trees are planted for their spring blossom, providing a splash of colour in an otherwise still rather drab post-winter landscape. All trees have flowers, either insect or wind-pollinated, but insect-pollinated flowers are larger and more showy: if the flowers appear plain white, they are usually richly patterned in the ultra-violet wavelengths visible to insects. It is not always visually clear whether a flower is insect-pollinated or not, but the presence of often strong-smelling nectar provides confirmation. Below are images of ten such insect-pollinated trees. Wild Cherry ( Prunus avium ) When one thinks of trees and flowers, the blossom of Japanese cherries immediately springs to mind. Japanese cherries are carefully bred and selected cultivars, nearly always grown by grafting onto a rootstock of Wild Cherry. In the British countryside Wild Cherry is the only large-flowered large woodland tree. Common Hawthorn ( Crataegus monogyna ) In May, after the Myrobalan Plum and th