Watsonia marginata flower and client

The pale, radially symmetric flower of Watsonia marginata is wide open for receiving guests like the hairy beetle that checks for food or drink here.

One wonders how often an insect might land on a flower, satisfy itself and depart without ever touching anthers or stigma in the process. Strong appeal in colour and fragrance should bring a flower more visitors, increasing the probability of pollination hits.

If a plant produces seed in large quantities, the germination rate does not need to be excessive. When only few viable seeds are set per season, germination has to be high for the future safety of the species.

Whatever reproductive opportunities are capitalised upon by a living plant (and its supporters that also depend on it for sustenance), the economics of abundance and scarcity are always in play as natural processes ebb, flow and transform (Manning, 2007; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984).