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Limosella aquatica grows in temperate regions worldwide, except Australia. (What happened, Oz?) It’s an annual of mudflats & vernal pools. Star-shaped flowers are very un-Scroph, but much of the time they’re cleistogamous & never open. 📷: Eva the Weaver CCBYNCSA2 #Scrophulariaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Verbascum is a genus of biennials and perennials that are fantastic for pollinators and add a vertical element to a composition. Their hairy filaments are interesting. I wonder if they are part of the attraction to pollinators. #Scrophulariaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Tribe Limoselleae includes Selago (191 spp), Jamesbrittenia (84), Manulea (71), Zaluzianskya (57), Chaenostoma (46), & a few smaller genera. Most of these are from southern Africa, where the tribe has radiated. 📷: Manulea cheiranthus by Gigi Laidler CCBYNC4. #Scrophulariaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Leucophyllum (“white leaf”; tribe Leucophylleae) has 17 Mexico & adjacent USA. Three spp occur in the USA, including L. frutescens of s. & w. Texas. This species is widely used as an ornamental shrub in warm parts of the USA, from California to Florida. #Scrophulariaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Torenia fournieri is native to India, SE Asia & China, but cultivars of it are used as bedding annuals worldwide. It is called wishbone flower because of the two stamens joined by their anthers, which is a defining feature of the family. #Scrophulariaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

This is Bontia daphnoides, a Caribbean & S. Florida species in a primarily Australian group. It used to be in the Myoporaceae, but that family is now reduced to the tribe Myoporeae within the Scrophulariaceae. This species has corky, water-dispersed fruits. #Scrophulariaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Capraria biflora is widespread in Latin America (& just gets into the USA in southern FL). Its family placement has been debated for many years, but it now resides in the tribe Leucophylleae of the Scrophs. #Scrophulariaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Reassignment of genera started with “The disintegration of the Scrophulariaceae” by Olmstead et al. (2001) & continued with “Further disintegration of the Scrophulariaceae” by Oxelman et al. (2005). But lots of cool plants are still in the #Scrophulariaceae, e.g, Russelia cf. polyedra #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

This week is devoted to #Scrophulariaceae, a family that has changed dramatically since I first learned it. Things previously called Scrophs are now in Plantagin., Orobanch., Phrym. and other families. Has any other family changed as much? Scrophularia marilandica Debbie Roos CCBY2 #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

I came this close [finger & thumb 5 mm apart] from posting about Dendrophylax lindenii. There's a fab video about a team of photogs trying to get video of the moths in action. #TeamMoth #PollinatorWeek #Orchidaceae #pollination youtu.be/B9IIrpOLJ14?...

Rare Ghost Orchid Has Multiple Pollinators | Short Film ShowcaseYouTube video by National Geographicyoutu.be

I’ll end Moth Week with the most famous case of moth pollination: the #orchid Angraecum sesquipedale, in habitat in Madagascar. Dawin predicted that a moth must exist with a proboscis long enough to reach the nectar deep in the spur. He was right! #pollination #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

I'll say it again: Not every visitor is a pollinator! This Saliunca styx visiting the flower of Murraya paniculata may or may not be transporting pollen as it feeds on nectar. We can’t tell from this photo. 📷: Adedotun Ajibade CCBYNC4 #pollination #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Micropterix calthella adults feed on pollen, including that of their namesake Caltha palustris, transporting pollen in the process. They are not the sole pollinators of this plant, but they are part of a network of floral visitors. 📷: Julie CCBYNCSA2. #pollination #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

We mustn’t overlook the little guys, the microlepidoptera. These are settling moths that land on the flower to feed. They are hugely important pollinators. 📷: Scoparia biplagialis on Solidago sp. by Jeanette Jaskula CCBYNC4. #pollination #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Yucca Moths are amazing pollinators. They gather pollen & intentionally place it on the stigma! Their larvae eat some of the resulting seeds. This is Hesperoyucca whipplei with a California yucca moth (Tegeticula maculata). #pollination #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Not every visit by a moth will result in pollination. This African Hummingbird Hawkmoth is visiting a cultivated Salvia, a species from the Americas adapted to hummingbird pollination. The moth is stealing nectar & can’t affect pollination. 📷: tjeerddw CCBYNC4 #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

This Giant Sphinx (Cocytius antaeus) is visiting a Hymenocallis sp. Notice the exserted stamens. They are out where they can deposit pollen on the moth. The stigma is exserted, too. Pollen will be transported on the moth’s wings. 📷: Standa Pavouk CCBYNC4 #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

In this amazing photo by Máté Menyhárt (CCBY2), you can see the pollen covering the proboscis. That’s why these moths are so important: They are very good at transporting pollen. They’re strong fliers, so they can move pollen over long distances. #pollination #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

To celebrate Moth Week, I’m posting all week about the importance of moths as pollinators. Let’s start with the big, flashy, hovering moths, the hawkmoths or sphinx moths, Sphingidae. Hemaris thysbe is one I often see because it’s diurnal, like me! #pollination #MothWeek #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Oxalis debilis 'Aureoreticulata' is infected with a begomovirus that gives it the gold venation. It’s one of the rare cases in which a viral infection increases the aesthetic value of a plant (cf. Tulip breaking virus). #Oxalidaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱