Pollen morphology and pollination ecology of Amorphophallus species from North Western Ghats and Konkan region of India
The present paper reports on palynology and pollination ecology of eight taxa of Amorphophallus from North Western Ghats (NWGS) and Konkan region of India. Out of ten known pollen exine ornamentations of the genus, six are represented – psilate, striate, fossulate, verrucate, scabrate and the new ty...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Flora. Morphologie, Geobotanik, Oekophysiologie Geobotanik, Oekophysiologie, 2010, Vol.205 (5), p.326-336 |
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Zusammenfassung: | The present paper reports on palynology and pollination ecology of eight taxa of
Amorphophallus from North Western Ghats (NWGS) and Konkan region of India. Out of ten known pollen exine ornamentations of the genus, six are represented – psilate, striate, fossulate, verrucate, scabrate and the new type ‘pseudofossulate’ of
Amorphophallus commutatus var.
wayanadensis. These diverse pollen exine ornamentations can be utilized as an important taxonomic tool to distinguish taxa and also to resolve taxonomic problems (
A.
commutatus complex). The pollen of all eight taxa had retained their sculptured surface (exine ornamenatation type) after acetolysis. This clearly demonstrates that these taxa do not show susceptibility to the conventional acetolysis technique as reported earlier. The present study also highlights the importance of pollen surface morphology concerning phytogeography of the genus.
Observation of pollination ecology of the studied
Amorphophallus taxa reveals that all are mostly visited by beetles (Bostrichidae, Cetoniidae, Hybosoridae, Lyctidae, Nitidulidae, Rutelinae, Scarabaeidae, Staphylinidae), followed by flies (Drosophilidae, Muscidae), bees (Apidae: Trigone), ants (Formicidae, Dolichoderinae) and cockroaches (Blaberidae/Panesthiinae). The beetle families Bostrichidae, Lyctidae and Rutelinae, ant families Formicidae and Dolichoderinae and the cockroach family Blaberidae/Panesthiinae are for the first time reported as visitors in the genus
Amorphophallus. Most of the taxa display features characteristic of cantharophily (beetle pollination) except
A. commutatus var.
commutatus and
A. commutatus var.
wayanadensis, where
Trigona bees are the actual pollinators. The beetles (Cetoniidae, Nitidulidae, Scarabaeidae) and bees (Apidae:
Trigona) are the real pollinators for the
Amorphophallus species of NWGS and Konkan while rest of the insects are mere visitors for alimentary/food resources (staminode flowers, stigmatic fluid, pollen, appendix surface, appendix exudates) and using the inflorescences as mating and egg laying sites. Species belonging to the section
Rhaphiophallus (
Amorphophallus konkanensis and
Amorphophallus sylvaticus) are pollinated by
Epuraea –
Haptoncurina sp. (Nitidulidae) beetles only. Generally, the species of
Amorphophallus in NWGS and Konkan region with short flowering peduncle are always pollinated by dung beetles or scarabs while species bearing a long flowering peduncle are usually pollinated by
Epuraea –
Haptoncurina sp |
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ISSN: | 0367-2530 1618-0585 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.flora.2009.12.024 |