The floral biology and reproductive system of Emp

Authors: Fernanda Nogueira Mendes Roberta de Melo Valente Márcia Maria Corrêa Rêgo Maria Cristina Esposito

Publish Date: 2016/09/26

Volume: 69, Issue: 1, Pages: 11-25

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Abstract

Studies of the floral biology of the buriti palm Mauritia flexuosa have presented conflicting results with respect to the mechanism of pollination indicating either cantharophily or anemophily To resolve this question the floral biology of M flexuosa was studied in a coastal restinga environment in northeastern Brazil The reproductive system was studied experimentally and floral visitors were collected by bagging inflorescences In this environment M flexuosa a dioecious species has several genderspecific floral features that function to attract pollinators especially beetles The male flowers produce large amounts of pollen as a reward and male and female inflorescences produce similar odors that attract pollinators to female flowers which offer only a nectar secretion as a reward When feeding on the female flowers the visitors frequently come into contact with the stigmata To increase the chances of pollination the female flowers persist longer than the male ones and the viability of the pollen grain is very high A curculionid beetle species of the genus Grasidius was found to be an effective pollinator We suspect that wind also contributes to the pollination of M flexuosa in the study area but in a relatively minor wayThe authors thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico CNPq for financing the project and for awarding a doctoral scholarship to the first author the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior CAPES for a “sandwich grant” provided to the first author BEX number 9892/117 and the manuscript reviewers M Nascimento authorized this study on his property M Rocha and H F Silva Filho helped collect data and assisted in the field and Stephen Ferrari translated the manuscript

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