Biologists have noticed that global warming has led to an increase in the size of plant flowers

 Due to global warming, plants increase in flower size. This is reported by the University of Michigan.

Biologists have long noticed that as the climate warms, many plants begin to bloom earlier in the spring. This trend worries experts because it can disrupt the interactions between plants and animals - bees, birds, bats and others - that pollinate them. Much less attention has been paid to changes in other characteristics of flowers, such as size, which can also affect plant-pollinator interactions, which are becoming scarce due to climate change.

James Erickson of the University of Michigan and his colleagues conducted an experiment. They collected bindweed seeds from the edges of agricultural soybean and corn fields in Tennessee, North and South Carolina. The collection took place twice: in 2003 and 2012. During this nine-year period, the region experienced an increase in average temperatures, especially at night, as well as an increase in extreme rainfall alternating with more extreme droughts. To test changes in flower morphology, the researchers planted field-collected seeds from both years in the greenhouse of the University of Massachusetts Botanic Gardens. When the flowers opened, their properties were measured using a digital caliper. A total of 2,836 flowers from 456 plants were measured.

They found that the morning glory crowns became much wider over the nine years - 4.5 centimeters in diameter in 2003 compared to 4.8 centimeters in 2012, with the difference being more pronounced in the north of the country. In addition, over time, flowers became more "satisfactory" for pollinators. Ipomoea flowers grown from seeds harvested in 2012 produced, on average, more pollen grains and more nectar than flowers from seeds harvested in 2003. However, the researchers are unsure of this conclusion as the nectar and pollen analysis was performed on a smaller sample.

According to the researchers, the increase in the size of the flowers is related to the need to pay attention to insects in the face of global warming.