Nectar
/ˈnɛktɚ/
Definition
Nectar is a sugary liquid produced by specialized glands called nectaries, usually in flowers and sometimes on leaves or stems. It consists mostly of water and sugars, often with small amounts of amino acids and other compounds. In flowers, nectar serves as a reward for pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and birds, helping move pollen between blooms. Nectar differs from sap, which circulates internally through the plant’s tissues.
Biological Role
- Pollinator reward: nectar helps many flowering plants attract animals that transfer pollen, including bees, butterflies, moths, birds, and bats. This link between food reward and pollination can increase successful seed set.
- Placement in flowers: Plants often produce nectar in specialized glands called nectaries, usually inside flowers near the reproductive parts. Its position can guide visitors past anthers and stigmas, improving pollen pickup and delivery.
- More than reproduction: Some plants make nectar outside flowers in extrafloral nectaries on leaves, petioles, or stems. These secretions can attract ants and other predatory insects that may reduce damage from some herbivores.
- Useful garden observation: The amount and accessibility of nectar partly shape which pollinators visit a plant. In gardens, flower shape, bloom timing, and weather can affect how available nectar is to different animals.
Related Terms
Flower
Flower is the reproductive structure of a flowering plant, usually containing stamens, which produce pollen, and one or…
Pollination
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the male part of a flower, the anther, to the female part, the stigma, of…
Pollen
Pollen is a fine, powdery substance made in the anthers of seed plants. It consists of tiny grains that carry the male…
Stigma
Stigma is the pollen-receptive tip or surface of a flower’s pistil, the female reproductive structure. It is usually…
Anther
Anther is the pollen-producing part of a flower’s stamen, the male reproductive structure. It usually sits at the tip…
Corolla
Corolla refers to the collective petals of a flower. It is a floral structure positioned just inside the sepals and…
Petal
Petal refers to one of the individual parts of a flower’s corolla, the inner set of leaf-like structures located just…
Scent
Scent refers to the smell produced by a plant, usually from volatile organic compounds released by flowers, leaves…