A flower at lizard height

Morning feeding in the Caatinga

In Lajes, Rio Grande do Norte, camera traps monitored 53 flowers on 11 Tacinga inamoena plants. The total observation effort was 450 camera-days. Four cases of flower consumption by Tropidurus hispidus were recorded, corresponding to 7,5% of the monitored sample. The lizards fed in the morning, shortly after flowers close to the ground opened. They did not climb the cacti, and in one case reached a flower by jumping. [Paixão et al. 2021, pp. 2–4]

Two flowers were eaten entirely, including the pericarpel surrounding the ovary. A third suffered severe damage to its reproductive organs. No fruits developed from these three flowers. The fourth was partially damaged, and after 34 days the subsequent outcome remained unresolved because recording had ended. The distribution of damage describes the interaction more precisely than simply counting bitten flowers. [Paixão et al. 2021, pp. 3–4]

The same plant in a botanical garden

A different lizard species, Tropidurus torquatus, was observed in the collection in Rio de Janeiro. During a season involving 79 flowers, 45 visits by this species and 26 cases of florivory were recorded. In 21 cases, parts of the perianth were damaged, and in five, some reproductive structures were also affected. The pericarpel remained intact. This type of feeding allowed many flowers to continue fruit development. [Gonzaga et al. 2025, pp. 3–7]

A total of 72 fruits set. After 11 subsequently fell, 61 reached maturity, representing about 77% of the original number of flowers. Ripening took approximately 11 months. Distinguishing fruit set from full maturation makes it possible to trace reproductive success over time, including after observations of the flowers themselves have ended. [Gonzaga et al. 2025, pp. 7]

Visits, pollination and damage

In Rio de Janeiro, bees were the most frequent flower visitors, while the hummingbird Thalurania glaucopis was recorded five times. Six protected flowers, including two protected before opening, also began forming fruits. This small sample provides grounds for investigating self-fertility and autogamy. The contribution of individual visitors to pollen transfer and the origin of the embryos require separate experiments. [Gonzaga et al. 2025, pp. 7–9]

Both studies concern the same plant in different surroundings and involve two lizard species. In the natural population, the most serious damage reached the base of the flower. In the collection, feeding on its outer parts predominated. This difference allows the observed effects to be related to flower anatomy and the extent of feeding, while keeping the two trials separate. [Paixão et al. 2021, pp. 3–4]

The flower is also the site of several simultaneous interactions. It provides nectar and pollen for visitors, food for herbivores and a space in which pollination, fertilisation and subsequent seed development take place. The eventual fruit integrates the effects of these processes over many months. [Gonzaga et al. 2025, pp. 8–9]