Nectar

Nectar is a sweet, sticky liquid made by plants. It is produced in special parts of the plant called nectaries, which are often found inside flowers. This sugary liquid helps attract animals like bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and bats, which move from flower to flower and help the plants reproduce in the process.

Because nectar is rich in sugar, it is an important food for many pollinators. Bees, for example, use nectar to make honey, which they store for later use. Nectar also helps other helpful insects survive. Some wasps that eat harmful pests rely on nectar for energy, making them useful in farming to keep crop-damaging insects under control.

Nectar is not just for flowers. Some plants make it outside their flowers to attract animals that can protect them from being eaten by herbivores. This shows how important nectar is in nature, helping plants stay healthy and produce the fruits and seeds we enjoy.

Etymology

The word "nectar" comes from the Greek word νέκταρ, which means the magical drink of eternal life in old stories. Some people think it also means “unkillable” or “immortal.” People first started using “nectar” to talk about the sweet liquid in flowers around the year 1600.

Floral nectaries

A nectary, also called a honey gland, is a special part of a flower that makes nectar. Nectar is a sweet liquid that helps attract animals like bees, moths, hummingbirds, and bats to help the plant make seeds. These animals eat the nectar and, in return, help the plant by moving pollen from one flower to another.

Nectaries can be found in many places in a flower, such as on the petals, sepals, or even the ovary. Some flowers have special shapes called spurs that help pollinators reach the nectar more easily. The amount of nectar changes depending on the flower's age and how often it is visited by pollinators.

Extrafloral nectaries

See also: Myrmecophily and Plant defenses against herbivory

Extrafloral nectaries are special glands on plants that make nectar outside of flowers. They are usually found on leaves or leaf stems and help protect plants from insects that might eat them. These nectaries attract helpful insects like ants and wasps, which eat both the nectar and any harmful insects around, acting like bodyguards for the plant.

Scientists have found extrafloral nectaries in thousands of plant species. They are most common in certain plant groups, like beans and passion flowers. Some ferns also have these special nectaries, which have been around for millions of years.

Components

Nectar is made mostly of sugars like sucrose, glucose, and fructose. It also contains other special plant chemicals called phytochemicals that help attract insects and birds that pollinate the flowers. Some of these chemicals, like alkaloids and polyphenols, might help protect the plant from harmful creatures.

Plants use different smells and tastes in their nectar to draw in pollinators. For example, a tobacco plant from Utah uses a sweet smell to attract birds and moths, but it also adds a bitter taste that might encourage them to move on to other plants, helping the plant get pollinated more effectively. Nectar also includes water, essential oils, and many other useful compounds.

Similar attractive substances

Some plants that rely on insects for pollination don’t produce nectar but use other ways to attract their pollinators. They may have special structures called elaiophores, which produce oils instead of nectar, or osmophores, which create lovely scents to draw in pollinators. For example, orchids use special scents that can mimic animal perfumes to attract insects. These scents come from special cells on their flowers that are shaped like tiny domes and filled with dense material. Other plants, like certain types of narcissus, release special smells from parts of their flowers to attract specific pollinators.