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Blütenboden

English translation: base of the flower

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Blütenboden
English translation:base of the flower
Entered by: David Williams

09:08 Sep 26, 2008
German to English translations [PRO]
Science - Botany / angiosperms
German term or phrase: Blütenboden
This is the part of a flower that a nectar bat would feed from, i.e.:

...fliegt Blüten an und nimmt mit ihrer langen Zunge den Nektar vom Blütenboden auf.

Or is it OK to simplify as follows?

It flies up to flowers and feeds on the nectar from the flower by probing with its long tongue.
David Williams
Germany
Local time: 15:20
base of the flower
Explanation:
or
nectary within the base of the flower

see references below

Decided to post it as an answer :<).
Selected response from:

Sabine Voigt
United States
Local time: 09:20
Grading comment
Many thanks. Naturally, this is where the nectar reservoir and the receptacle are located, and this agrees with the botany book I consulted states (i.e., the base of the flower is the base of stamens, petals and sepals).
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4nectar reservoir
David Moore (X)
3receptacle
Dr. Georg Schweigart
3Floral bud, receptacle
Dolores Vázquez
3base of the flower
Sabine Voigt
Summary of reference entries provided
Sabine Voigt

Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
nectar reservoir


Explanation:
is what this is, but I think you are perfectly in order in wording it as you suggest, since using the word "probing" does already imply that the nectar is well-hidden!

David Moore (X)
Local time: 15:20
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 17
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks. I was also contemplating using either "base of the flower" or "receptacle", but found nothing to confirm such usage, i.e. "Your search - "Flower bat" nectar tongue "base of the flower " - did not match any documents" and searching for "Flower bat" nectar tongue "receptacle" returned one not really relevant hit.

Asker: How does "feeds on the nectar by probing the nectar reservoir with its long tongue" sound?

Asker: Or indeed: "...feeds by inserting its tongue onto the nectar reservoir"?

Asker: into, not onto! :-)

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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
receptacle


Explanation:
Alle Wörterbücher übersetzen es mit "receptacle".


    Reference: http://www.google.de/search?hl=de&q=receptacle+Bl%C3%BCtenbo...
Dr. Georg Schweigart
Germany
Local time: 15:20
Native speaker of: German
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  David Moore (X): Yes, but does it really need translating? Do you ask your wife to get "a jar of" honey out of the cupboard, as if it were kept in anything else?
1 hr
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Floral bud, receptacle


Explanation:
An option.


    Reference: http://iate.europa.eu/iatediff/SearchByQuery.do
Dolores Vázquez
Native speaker of: Native in GalicianGalician, Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 4
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1 day 4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
base of the flower


Explanation:
or
nectary within the base of the flower

see references below

Decided to post it as an answer :<).


Sabine Voigt
United States
Local time: 09:20
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Many thanks. Naturally, this is where the nectar reservoir and the receptacle are located, and this agrees with the botany book I consulted states (i.e., the base of the flower is the base of stamens, petals and sepals).
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Reference comments


3 hrs
Reference

Reference information:
A nectary is a plant gland that secretes nectar. These may be floral nectaries, usually found within the base of the flower, or extrafloral nectaries, located on other portions of the plant.
Floral nectaries are generally located at the base of the perianth and are used to attract pollinating animals, such as bees, birds, or bats. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Nectar

This one looks almost exactly like your sentence:

The bat forces its head into the flower through a mass of pollen-bearing anthers, trying to reach a deep nectary with its long tongue.
http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/membgnewsletter/volume4numb...


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Note added at 4 hrs (2008-09-26 13:20:13 GMT)
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How about "the bat approaches a flower ... " ? Since it is clear that a bat gets around flying ...

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Note added at 7 hrs (2008-09-26 16:50:53 GMT)
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Another suggestion from a non-native speaker ... (I am not to fond of the "feeds on" part) ;o) :

… the bat approaches flowers and with its long tongue reaches down into the base of the flower to probe for nectar.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2008-09-26 17:01:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

... not TOO fond of course ....

Sabine Voigt
United States
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 4
Note to reference poster
Asker: Many thanks! Does this sound suitable: It flies up to flowers and feeds on the nectar by probing the nectary in the base of the flower with its long tongue. I'm unsure about "flies up to flowers" for "fliegt Blüten an" here. It seems rather too unscientific even for a pop science context.

Asker: Yes, indeed. "It approaches flowers" sounds much better, and I guess it isn't TOO anthropomorphic.

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