Page 33 - JCAU-5-4

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Floral strategies for regenerative design

Figure 4. The Wallace’s sphinx moth, a Madagascan hawkmoth whose Figure 5. Flower under ultraviolet (UV), highlighting how structures
existence was predicted by Darwin and Wallace and has now been become visible to insects that can see in the UV part of the electromagnetic
recognized as a new species. Source: Adapted from Minet et al., 2021 spectrum. Source: Photo by Rolf Hughes, 2023
(photo by Anna Vershinina, 2023)

to the full. While the human eye can detect around 10
million different shades, our vision is limited to the red,
orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple wavelengths
of the electromagnetic spectrum that lie between about 400
and 780 nanometers (nm) in length. Pollinators like bees
can perceive ultraviolet light at wavelengths between 300
and 560 nm in length on the electromagnetic but cannot
appreciate red light. For a bee (and most other insects),
red flowers appear black, while we perceive ultraviolet
markings as black. Many flowers also have ultraviolet
nectar guides that humans cannot see but act like runway
lighting directing insect pollinators toward the center
of the flower (Moye, 2017). Pollinators can also perceive
polarized light, another stimulus that is beyond the sensory
repertoire of humans (Figure 5). Polarization patterns are Figure 6. Corpse flower. Source: Photo by Anna Vershinina, 2023
created when sunlight moves through atmospheric air
molecules to produce effects that bees can identify and use looks like rotting flesh, and heats up to a temperature of
as navigational cues that can be shared with other workers 37.8°C (the same as human body temperatures) dispersing
in the hive. the volatile scent molecules into the air. Attracting carrion
beetles and other scavenging insects that normally feed
2.3. Drawing inspiration from the corpse flower on dead animals, pollinators are drawn into the flower by
The corpse flower also known as Titan arum or the promise of a meal. On arrival, they encounter a waxy
Amorphophallus titanium is a rare plant that is native to the surface on the inside of the spathe that makes it difficult
rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, that is infamous for being for them to climb back out. As they struggle to escape, the
“the worst smelling flower in the world” as it smells just like insects become covered in pollen from the male flowers
a rotting corpse (Figure 6). The population has declined located near the base of the spadix. Should they manage
more than 50% over the past 150 years owing to logging to escape, then these insects carry the pollen with them
and planting out the native forest habitat to make oil palm transferring it to other nearby corpse flowers.
plantations. The plant’s colossal inflorescence, or flower
structure, can reach three meters tall and 1 meter wide, 2.4. Interdependency: Flowers as companion species
and emits a powerful odor, from the spadix, a tall, central From an evolutionary perspective, flowering plants
column that is surrounded by a frilly, skirt-like structure are more than a vital resource, or a compelling place of
called the spathe, whose wrinkled, veiny deep maroon experiences but owing to the two-way interdependency

Volume 5 Issue 4 (2023) 4 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1006