Biology of flowering and nectar production in the flowers of the beauty bush (Kolkwitzia amabilis Graebn.)

Nectar production and the morphology of the nectary and pollen grains of Kolwitzia amabilis Graebn. were studied during the period 2008–2009 and in 2011. The blooming of beauty bush flowers started in the third decade of May and ended in the middle of June; flowering lasted 22–23 days. The flower life span was 4–5 days. Nectar production began at the bud break stage. The tube of the corolla in beauty bush flowers forms a spur inside which the nectary is located. The secretory surface of the nectary consists of two layers of glandular epidermal outgrowths: unicellular trichomes, with their length ranging 54.6 μm – 70.2 μm, and papillae with a length of 13.0 μm – 20.6 μm. The mean weight of nectar per 10 flowers, determined for the three years of the study, was 8.6 mg, with a sugar concentration of 50.8%. The weight of nectar sugar was on average 4.4 mg. In terms of the size, beauty bush pollen grains are classified as medium-sized. These are tricolporate grains.