The best pollinators can drive evolutionary changes in flowers

The best pollinators can drive evolutionary changes in flowers

A new study by plant biologists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, challenges a longstanding idea that stems from the large number of flowers in the mountains of Central and South America that have evolved to be pollinated by hummingbirds instead of bees. According to the research team, flowers make this switch—not because bees avoid cool, wet cloud forest conditions at higher elevations—but because hummingbirds are simply more effective pollinators.