Abstract
Hand pollination of Calathea ovandensis (Marantaceae) increased the number of initiated fruits by 24%, number of mature fruits by 6.8%, and number of seeds by 12.6%, but only the first of these differences was statistically significant. The proportion of flowers that matured fruits was very low compared with data reported for other species: 8.1% for hand-pollinated treatment, 7.4% for open-pollinated controls. The proportion of flowers that initiated fruits was also quite low: 24.5% for hand-pollinated plants, 20.2% for open-pollinated plants. Antguards attracted to extrafloral nectaries on the inflorescence appeared to stimulate flower production, while an ant-tended herbivore of reproductive tissues had a negative effect on fruit maturation. While fruit initiation was pollen-limited, mature fruit and seed production were limited primarily by resources. -from Authors
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 200-206 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Ecology |
Volume | 69 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 1988 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics