wax fountain ...

"the whole world is a single flower". twenty five hundred years ago, buddha picked up a flower. nobody understood. three hundred years later, the sixth patriarch said, "originally there is nothing, where can you find dust ?"

a flower, also known as a bloom or blossom. the flower structure contains the plant's reproductive organs, and its function is to produce seeds through sexual reproduction.

many flowers are dependent upon the wind to move pollen between flowers of the same species. others rely on animals (especially insects) to accomplish this feat. flowers that are insect pollinated are called entomophilous (literally "insect loving"). pollinators are attracted to the plant, perhaps in search of nectar.

the plant in the picture is native to some tropical forests. known as ceropegia (from latin, meaning "wax fountain"). the flowers have a waxy appearance and they resemble small lantern/fountain, are characterised by tubular flowers specially adapted for the temporary capture of insects for pollination purposes.

on the inside of the tube, hairs are found, all of them directed downwards. when a pollinator enters the cage and moves down the tube, the stiff hairs make it difficult, if not impossible, to move out again. the insect is thus almost forced to move further down where a very specialized structure containing the pollen mass is housed. pollen sacks get attached to the bodies of the pollinators. after about four days, the flowers start to wilt. when this happens, the hairs become lax and the pollinator can leave its cage, pollination taking place when it enters another flower of the same species.

however, produces a large amount of seeds. the seeds are mainly wind-distributed and are dispersed by floating on the gentlest breeze with their parachute-like tufts of white hairs.