Mucuna birdwoodiana 白花油麻藤/禾雀花

Congratulations Yeung PK, your Mucuna birdwoodiana is our Spotting of the Day: "Native to South-central and Southeast China, this climbing vine (Mucuna birdwoodiana) with a stunning raceme inflorescence is our Spotting of the Day! Mucunas are in the family Fabaceae (legumes), and are generally pollinated by bats. Bat pollination tends to occur for plants that possess large flowers. Mucuna flowers in the New World are pollinated by bats with advanced echolocation systems capable of picking up specific echoes reflected by flowers. Old World Mucuna birdwoodiana seems to be pollinated by rousette bats: https://buff.ly/2Ja6IiS For an interesting read about the evolution of bat pollination in the New World and the Old World: https://buff.ly/2pRC99D " Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectnoah/photos/a.10150595289465603.674700.10150120463815603/10160255720960603/?type=3&theater Twitter: https://twitter.com/projectnoah/status/979843861341200384