Mucuna holtonii

Mucuna holtonii
Mucuna holtonii, inflorescence
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Tribe:	Phaseoleae
Genus:	Mucuna
Species:	M. holtonii
Binomial name
Mucuna holtonii Moldenke
Synonyms
Stizolobium holtonii[1]

Mucuna holtonii is a species of plant in the bean family, which is pollinated by bats. Bats are able to detect if the flowers have nectar using echolocation^[2][3]. After an initial bat visit during which nectar is removed, the petals are arranged in a different manner (altering the shape of the flower). As a result, the unique "echo fingerprint" of petal arrangement informs the bat whether nectar is present or absence. This trait appears to has coevolved with bats.

Sources

1. ^ IPNI
2. ^ *D. von Helverson and O. von Helverson. "Object recognition by echolocation: a nectar feedingbat exploiting the flowers of a rain forest vine". in Journal of Comp. Physiol. A. (2003) 189: 327-336.
3. ^ von Helverson & von Helverson (1999) Acoustic guide in bat-pollinated flower Nature 398:759-760.