EXHIBIT ITEM 118
Datura wrightii
Sacred datura
© 2010 Joyce Riney Peters
Watercolor
Mutualism, the interdependence of one plant and one pollinator, is often about survival. Sphinx moths can pollinate the deep trumpet flowers of this plant since they have a 4-6 inch proboscis. This pollinator is attracted to the flower by the sweet scent emitted as it opens. Grooves of the bloom are designed to help guide the proboscis to the large amount of nectar enticing the pollinator to hover long enough to ensure pollination of the plant. For a Sphinx moth, a substance in the plants’ leaves also ensures its caterpillar will emerge as a moth with good eyesight.
