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THURSDAY. APRIL 14. 2022 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 7A
Plants, ofthe Southeast,
"Pawpaw,” Asimina triloba
Photo/ Linda Lee
Since Pawpaw flowers contains both male and female
parts, the flower is said to be “perfect. ” The generally un
attractive color and scent lead to numerous theories about
the attraction of pollinators in early spring.
“Indeed, it does stink
in some sort... ”
—Shakespeare,
Measure for Measure,
Act 3, scene 2
By John Nelson
University of
South Carolina
Brown flowers? Hmmm.
Doesn’t seem very springy,
does it?
But this is the time of year
for us to recall the incredible
diversity of form and func
tion among the flowers
around us. Size, shape,
scent... and sexuality... are
among the very important
factors that characterize these
marvelous botanical “inven
tions.”
Pawpaw flowers appear in
the spring (as in now) before
the leaves, and they are cer
tainly unmistakable, with a
cup-like corolla of six brown
ish-purple petals, and plenty
of stamens.
Pawpaw is one of those
flowers that have numerous
separate pistils, something
like a magnolia blossom, and
each pistil has the potential of
producing a single fruit.
Since it contains both
male and female parts, the
flower is said to be “perfect”,
but when the flower first
opens, only the female pistils
are working. No pollen. This
makes the early flower func
tionally female, and only able
to receive pollen, not to share
its own.
Pollination is achieved
largely by a variety of small
ish flies (including fruit flies)
and the occasional beetle, at
tracted to the peculiar scent
being put off by the flowers,
just after they have opened,
when the pistils are receptive.
Pawpaw flowers them
selves won't win any fra
grance awards: most people
describe the scent as rather
stinky, as in yeasty, or even
"mousey." (And then there
are those petals, colored
like...decaying meat? Could
that also have something to
do with pollinator attrac
tion?) After the pistils have
been fertilized from the
pollen of a different plant, the
stamens present will begin to
shed their pollen, and the
flower becomes functionally
male.
Considerable fascinating
research has been devoted to
its pollination. Dr. Kate
Goodrich of Widener Univer
sity in Chester PA is one of
these researchers. Her ongo
ing studies have involved
comparisons of the flower
scent with that of yeasts, or
certain bacteria, and thus
showing that the flower’s
natural scent is in fact mim
icking another scent which
could also be present in the
Georgia Power plans to reduce coal
reliance, boost use of renewables
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA - Executives
from Georgia Power Co. out
lined the utility's planned mix
of power-generating sources
for the next 20 years in hear
ings this week before the
state Public Service Com
mission (PSC).
In 18 hours of testimony
over two days, they ex
plained Georgia Power's plan
to close nine coal-burning
units and three oil-burning
units by 2028, leaving only
two units at Plant Bowen
near Cartersville, which
would be shut down by 2035.
The utility has been phasing
out coal for the last decade
amid tighter government reg
ulation of carbon emissions.
"It's no longer economical
to operate the company's
coal units," said Jeffrey
Grubb, director of resource
planning for Georgia Power.
"We don't see a lot of posi
tives in the future for the coal
fleet."
Georgia Power plans to
replace the electricity the
coal plants have been gener
ating by purchasing 2,356
megawatts of natural gas
from other utilities and
adding 2,300 megawatts of
power from renewable
sources by 2029. That com
mitment to renewables would
be raised to 6,000 megawatts
by 2035, Grubb said.
"Customers want renew
ables and no-carbon solu
tions," he said.
Georgia Power submits an
updated Integrated Resource
Plan (IRP) to the PSC every
three years, indicating where
it plans to get the power-gen
eration sources necessary to
meet the needs of its 2.7 mil
lion customers for the next 20
years.
The utility also plans to
increase its investment in
power generated through bat
tery storage, which helps off
set the intermittent nature of
renewable energy. The IRP
calls for developing 1,000
megawatts from batteries by
2030.
On a smaller scale, Geor
gia Power plans to test "tall
wind" technology by build
ing two wind turbines 140
meters to 165 meters high ca
pable of generating 4
megawatts each. An earlier
experiment with shorter tur
bines the utility launched in
2013 didn't prove economi
cal, said Andrew Wilson
Mallard, Georgia Power's di
rector of renewable develop
ment.
"If you get up high
enough, that wind resource is
significant," he said. "It can
create economical wind."
Under questioning from
Liz Coyle, executive director
of the consumer advocacy
group Georgia Watch, Grubb
said none of the projects
The company plans to replace
2,300 megawattsof electricity with
renewable sources by 2029.
Georgia Power is requesting
in the IRP likely would in
crease customer rates more
than the 10% increase the
utility has projected will re
sult following the completion
of the long-delayed,
overbudget nuclear expan
sion at Plant Vogtle.
But Grubb said
comparing the projects
in the IRP with Plant
Vogtle isn't a useful
analysis because of the
longer-term benefits
that will come from
adding two nuclear re
actors at the plant south
of Augusta.
"You're looking at a
60- to 80-year re
source," he said of
Plant Vogtle.
After additional
hearings this spring,
the PSC is scheduled to
vote on the Georgia
Power IRP this sum
mer.
This story is available
through a news partner
ship with Capitol Beat
News Service, a project of
the Georgia Press Educa
tional Foundation.
same setting. Perhaps this
strategy is useful in early
spring, when there aren’t a
whole lot of other pollinators
available.
Pawpaws are a woody
species; a slender tree, found
in much of the eastern USA,
including all of the South
eastern states. The trees have
smooth, gray bark. At the
stem tips, the handsome ter
minal buds are "naked," not
enclosed by protective scales.
Look closely, and you'll
see embryonic leaves, richly
covered with russet hairs.
Large, tear-drop shaped
leaves tend to be clustered at
the ends of the branches.
The crushed, fresh leaves
give off a peculiar, stinky
odor (not associated with the
flowers),but that doesn't
bother the zebra swallowtail.
This beautiful butterfly lays
its eggs on the foliage, the
only food source known for
its caterpillars.
The fruits, indeed, are
probably the most well-
known aspect of this plant.
Ripe fruits have their own
array of strong tropical scents
not related to those of the
flowers, and are prized by a
wide variety of wildlife
species, and of course, by hu
mans, too. Perhaps the fruits
will be the subject of an up
coming installment.. ©John-
Nelson2022
[John Nelson is the retired
curator of the A. C. Moore
Herbarium at the University of
South Carolina, in the Depart
ment of Biological Sciences, Co
lumbia SC 29208. As a public
service, the Herbarium offers
free plant identifications. For
more information, visit
www.herbarium.org or email
johnbnelson@sc.rr.com.]
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