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Mucuna holtonii
Mucuna holtonii is a species of plant in the bean family, which is pollinated by bats. Bats are able to detect if the flowers have nectar using echolocation. After an initial bat visit during which nectar is removed, the petals are arranged in a different manner (altering the shape of the flower). As a result, the unique "echo fingerprint" of petal arrangement informs the bat whether nectar is present or absent.
It is thought that the plant evolved acoustically conspicuous structures to make them easier to detect by glossophagine bats.
New Guinea Creeper · Mucuna bracteata · Mucuna flagellipes · Seabean · Mucuna interrupta · Mucuna monosperma · Mucuna paniculata · Cowitch · Mucuna sanjappae · Oxeye bean · Mucunas
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Mucuna holtonii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
