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anthophilous: msg#00012

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Subject: anthophilous

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The Word of the Day for July 13 is:

anthophilous \an-THAH-fuh-lus\ adjective
: feeding upon or living among flowers

Example sentence:
A 1998 study in Tasmania showed that anthophilous parrots are among the
major visitors to the flowers of the eucalyptus -- and among this important
tree's most effective cross-pollinators.

Did you know?
Parrots love eucalyptus flowers. That's because anthophilous birds are
naturally attracted to "ornithophilous" flowers -- which is to say, flowers
that are pollinated by birds. The "-philous" in both of those terms is the
combining form that means "loving" (from Greek "-philos"). "Anthophilous" uses
the Greek word "anthos," meaning "flower," while "ornithophilous" traces back
to Greek "ornis," meaning "bird." "Ornithophilous" is one of a whole swarm of
specialized words that identify flowers in terms of the flower-loving creatures
that pollinate them. "Entomophilous" flowers, for example, are pollinated by
anthophilous insects, such as bees. There's even a word specifically for plants
that are pollinated by bees: "melittophilous" (from the Greek word "melitta,"
meaning "bee").







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