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ZAP - Gotcha! Many plants depend on bees and butterflies crawling over their blossoms to pick up pollen to carry to the next plant. Not so for some plants that have evolved more diabolical schemes to make sure the pollen is deposited on the insects. These plants, like the scotch bloom shown here, have their pollen packets on spring loaded stems and, when a bee pokes it's head into the flower, the spring is triggered and the bee gets a sure pat on the back. These two blooms have been triggered. Unlike the fir trees that must make a gazillion bunches of pollen and depend on the wind to pollinate like trees (and our cars, roads, nasal passages, etc.), these clever plants need make much less pollen to perpetuate the species.
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