IngentaConnect Relationships between floral characters, pollination mechanisms, ...

Authors: CHOUTEAU, MATHIEU¹; GIBERNAU, MARC²; BARABÉ, DENIS¹

Source: Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 156, Number 1, January 2008 , pp. 29-42(14)

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Abstract:

The floral traits of the inflorescences of angiosperms have coevolved to ensure and maximize pollination success. Other factors believed to influence floral architecture are external (for example, ecological) to the inflorescence. In order to understand the relationships between such factors and floral characters, 12 floral traits were measured in 54 species of Araceae. An analysis was performed to determine how these traits are linked to the following: (1) self-pollination capacity; (2) life form (evergreen versus seasonally dormant); (3) climatic conditions; and (4) type of pollinator (i.e. flies, bees, or beetles). A significant difference was found between the pollen to ovule ratio of the species able to self-pollinate and those unable to self-pollinate. Evergreen and tropical aroids produced a larger number of gametes than did seasonally dormant and temperate taxa. Finally, several floral traits, such as pollen volume and number, number of female flowers, and flower sexual type (unisexual or bisexual), showed clear differences between the three pollinator types. Variations in floral traits between the different life forms and climatic conditions are discussed with respect to pollination efficiency and properties of the growing season. The pollen to ovule ratio cannot be considered as an accurate indicator of breeding systems in aroids because of the particular pollination ecology of the family. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 156, 29-42.

Keywords: bee; beetle; climatic conditions; fly pollination; life cycle; pollen to ovule ratio; pollination syndrome

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2007.00753.x

Affiliations: 1: Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Université de Montréal, Jardin Botanique de Montréal, 4101 Rue Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, QC, Canada H1X 2B2 2: Université Paul Sabatier, Laboratoire d'Evolution et Diversité Biologique (UMR 5174), Bâtiment 4R3-B2, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France

Relationships between floral characters, pollination mechanisms, life forms, and habitats in Araceae