Page 49 - (DK) I Can’t Believe It! 2

STRANGE BUT TRUE! 47

The tree
towers up to
115 ft (35 m) and
each fruit can
weigh about
6 lb (3 kg).

FAST FACTS
The flesh of the large,
round fruits is edible,
but it gives off an
overpowering stench.

Stamens
bear fertile
pollen.
Staminodes
bear infertile
pollen. Infertile pollen
attracts pollinators
such as bees and bats.
Flowers of trees in the Brazil nut
family have a unique structure. The
fertile stamens form a fleshy ring, with
a secondary mass of infertile stamens,
called staminodes, making a kind of hood.
Only the strongest pollinators—large bees
or some bats—can lift the hood and
collect the infertile pollen. As they do so,
they brush the stamens, carrying the
fertile pollen to the next flower they visit.

US_046_047_309600_Cannonball_Tree.indd 47 19/12/17 12:56 pm