The theologian, Howard Thurman, wrote, “Twilight is a time of pause, when nature changes her guard.” Biologists call these in-between hours of dawn and dusk crepuscular. It’s when some forest organisms go quiet and others become active.
We usually use crepuscular to describe animals — like deer — that are most active at those times. Plants don’t behave the way animals do, but some trees do respond to their crepuscular pollinators.
The flowers of some trees open wide at dawn to release their scents. This attracts and provides nectar for their early-morning pollinators. And the flowers of species that daytime pollinators visit stop their production of nectar at sunset and retract for the night.
Take the guava tree. Their flowers open early in the morning and pump out nectar right at dawn, attracting the sweat bees that pollinate them.
The baobab, a thick-trunked tree of Africa and Australia, opens its large white flowers at dusk. They give off a musky scent that draws in the fruit bats who arrive as the sun sets and pollinate them throughout the night.
And there’s the silk floss tree. Its flowers become fragrant and nectar-rich at dusk. That timing is perfect for sphinx moths, who fly at twilight.
So the next time you’re up early, or have a moment before dinner is ready, step outside and pause, to appreciate what happens in the world of trees when nature changes her guard.
