Reduced seed yields following self-pollination have repeatedly been observed, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive when self-pollen tubes can readily grow into ovaries, because pre-, post-zygotic late-acting self-incompatibility (LSI), or early-acting inbreeding depression (ID) can induce self-sterility. The main objective of this study was to differentiate these processes in Aconitum k...

Foraging pollinators can be expected to choose patches with high densities of floral resources. As a result, plants in flower-dense patches may receive higher visitation rates and pollination, hence, the pollination of one plant may be facilitated by the presence of neighbour plants. Facilitation of pollination has been predicted by theoretical models and demonstrated in some empirical studies,...

Pollination efficiency and reproductive success vary strongly among populations of most animal-pollinated plant species, depending on their size and local density, whereas individual plants within populations experience varying levels of reproductive output as a result of differences in floral display. Although most orchid species have been shown to be severely pollination limited, few studies ...

BACKGROUND Insect pollinator abundance, in particular that of bees, has been shown to be high where there is a super-abundance of floral resources; for example in association with mass-flowering crops and also in gardens where flowering plants are often densely planted. Since land management affects pollinator numbers, it is also likely to affect the resultant pollination of plants growing in t...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The genus Gesneria diversified in the Greater Antilles giving rise to various floral designs corresponding to different pollination syndromes. The goal of this study was to characterize the pollination and breeding systems of five Puerto Rican Gesneria species. METHODS The study was conducted in Arecibo and El Yunke National Forest, Puerto Rico, between 2003 and 2007. Flor...

Daphne laureola (Thymelaeaceae) is a gynodioecious, winter-flowering shrub inhabiting the understory of shady mountain forests. The small, inconspicuous yellowish-green flowers are pollinated by ectothermic insects whose activity is mainly confined to infrequent spells of sunny weather. We tested the hypotheses that (1) the solar irradiance environment of individual D. laureola plants and dista...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Brassicaceae is one of the most diversified families in the angiosperms. However, most species from this family exhibit a very similar floral bauplan. In this study, we explore the Brassicaceae floral morphospace, examining how corolla shape variation (an estimation of developmental robustness), integration and disparity vary among phylogenetically related species. Our aim i...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Gesneriaceae is a pantropical plant family with over 3000 species. A great variety of pollination mechanisms have been reported for the neotropical members of the family, but the details of buzz-pollination and enantiostyly for the family have not been described. We investigated the floral biology and pollination ecology of Paraboea rufescens in Xishuangbanna, south-west Chi...

In recent years Petunia has become a promising model system for studying the genetics and evolution of pollination syndromes. Here we provide a brief introduction to the issue of pollination syndromes, explain why Petunia is a suitable model for its study, present useful background information about pollinators and plants, review recent studies, and discuss questions related to the genetics and...