Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Blütenboden
English translation:
base of the flower
Added to glossary by
David Williams
Sep 26, 2008 09:08
15 yrs ago
German term
Germany
Scientific & technical expertise
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: German to English
Blütenboden
German to English
Science
Botany
angiosperms
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.
...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.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 | base of the flower |
Sabine Voigt
|
| 4 | nectar reservoir |
David Moore (X)
|
| 3 | receptacle |
Dr. Georg Schweigart
|
| 3 | Floral bud, receptacle |
Dolores Vázquez
|
Proposed translations
1 day 4 hrs
Sabine Voigt
United States
United States
Native in German
Works in field
United States
Biochemist & Molecular Biologist
Native in: German 
Works in: English to German, German to English, German
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
base of the flower
or
nectary within the base of the flower
see references below
Decided to post it as an answer :<).
nectary within the base of the flower
see references below
Decided to post it as an answer :<).
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
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)."
5 mins
nectar reservoir
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!
Note from 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. |
| How does "feeds on the nectar by probing the nectar reservoir with its long tongue" sound? |
| Or indeed: "...feeds by inserting its tongue onto the nectar reservoir"? |
| into, not onto! :-) |
2 hrs
Dr. Georg Schweigart
Germany
Germany
Native in German
Germany
More than 20 Years in Medical Research
Native in: German
Works in: English to German, German
Related KudoZ points
:
16
receptacle
Alle Wörterbücher übersetzen es mit "receptacle".
Peer comment(s):
| 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
|
3 hrs
Dolores Vázquez
Also a Technical Engineer
Native in: Galician , Spanish
Works in: English to Spanish, French to Spanish, German to Spanish, and 5 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Reference comments
3 hrs
Sabine Voigt
United States
United States
Native in German
Works in field
United States
Biochemist & Molecular Biologist
Native in: German
Works in: English to German, German to English, German
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Reference:
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.
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Note added at 7 hrs (2008-09-26 17:01:15 GMT)
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... not TOO fond of course ....
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...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2008-09-26 13:20:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
How about "the bat approaches a flower ... " ? Since it is clear that a bat gets around flying ...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2008-09-26 16:50:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
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 ....
Note from 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. |
| Yes, indeed. "It approaches flowers" sounds much better, and I guess it isn't TOO anthropomorphic. |
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