Articles
EXPLAINING VARIATION IN POLLINATION AND SEED SET IN AN ANDROMONOECIOUS GENUS OF THE PROTEACEAE
Article number
437_10
Pages
115 – 120
Language
Abstract
Stirlingia comprises seven shrub species endemic to Western Australia, which are unusual in the Proteaceae in that they have inflorescences with male and hermaphrodite flowers.
In Stirlingia virtually all hermaphrodite flowers produce a fruit.
However fertile fruit set is very variable within and between the species.
Most previous work on the pollination biology of the Proteaceae has concentrated on the florally spectacular vertebrate-pollinated taxa, where fertile fruit to flower ratios are very low, and various causes, including pollen limitation, resource and space limitation, have been proposed to explain the poor seed set in the taxa studied.
In Stirlingia virtually all hermaphrodite flowers produce a fruit.
However fertile fruit set is very variable within and between the species.
Most previous work on the pollination biology of the Proteaceae has concentrated on the florally spectacular vertebrate-pollinated taxa, where fertile fruit to flower ratios are very low, and various causes, including pollen limitation, resource and space limitation, have been proposed to explain the poor seed set in the taxa studied.
Stirlingia is not vertebrate-pollinated and comparative examination of three species reveals that an interaction between pollination syndrome, ecological conditions and life history strategy can explain the variation in seed set between populations of the different species.
Publication
Authors
P.G. Ladd, S.J. Wooller
Keywords
Stirlingia latifolia, Stirlingia simplex, Stirlingia tenuifolia, wind pollination, flower: fruit ratio, pollen:ovule ratio
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