File:Salvia aurea 1DS-II 7687.jpg

English: Salvia aurea, Opened flower (upper lip of corolla removed) illustrating the intricate mechanism of pollen transfer by means of a staminal lever mechanism <move the mouse pointer over the image to see annotations>. The corolla is two-lipped, the upper one hood-like and concealing the stamens and stigma, the lower one serving as a landing platform for visiting insects. The two stamens are modified into levers with a thin ligament forming a hinge or pivot point between the much elongated anther connective and the filament. This allows the elongated anther to swivel back and forth on a sturdy, upright filament. Where they form the joint, each elongated connective is divide them into an upper (with fertile anther lobe) and lower (with sterile anther lobe) arm. The two lower sterile anther lobes block access to the nectar. In the open flower the stamens and anther lobes are concealed in the hood-like upper lip of the corolla, with just the tip of the style (with stigma) protruding. A pollinator lands on the lip and in searching for the nectar, pushes against the flattened sterile anther lobes. This allows the anther on the end of the upper lever arm to move downwards as it swivels at the hinge (like a seesaw) and touches the back or head of the pollinator while depositing pollen. The pollinator then transfer pollen to some other flower of the same species for pollination. Manie van der Schijff Botanical Garden, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa