Pollination Biology or Ecology
Including examples from local flora and
David Attenborough’s Private Life of Plants
Abiotic Pollination
-
uses a nonliving vector
Usually considered to be a metabolically wasteful process
Two types:
1. Anemophily- “wind lover”= wind pollination
2. Hydrophily- “water lover” = water pollination
Anemophily
-major type of abiotic pollination
Usual Floral Morphology
-incomplete flowers that often lack perianth
-color and scent lacking
-flowers in inflorescences elevated above the vegetation
-flowers often open before leaves are produced
-large quantities of smooth, dry pollen produced
Anemophily is common in many families:
Poaceae Page 1223 of SMIFNCT
-inflorescence-spike or panicle, spikelet,
glumes, floret, lemma, and palea
Pg 78 and 81 SMIFNCT
-color photographs showing grass stamens
with two florets in spikelets arranged in
spike-like branches
Trees with catkins illustrated in SMIFNCT:
Fagaceae Pg. 721 monoecious
Juglandaceae Pg. 751 monoecious
Salicaceae Pg 981 dioecious
Hydrophily
-rarer type of abiotic pollination
Usual Floral Morphology:
Example of Families with Hydrophily
Ceratophyllaceae (Coon-tail) Pg 529-530 SMIFNCT
-mostly asexually reproduces by fragmentation
-during sexual reproduction, anthers break off and float to surface
releasing pollen that sinks to the female flowers that grow under
the water
-rare pollination in one of the most primitive groups magnoliophytes
Ceratophyllum demersum with underwater female flowers.
Photo from Plants of the Coastal Bend by Roy Lehman, Ruth
O’Brien, and Tammy White
Example of Families with Hydrophily
Hydrocharitaceae (Waterweed) Pgs 1166- 1172 SMIFNCT
Vallisnera (ribbonweed) or Egeria (Elodea is used as common
name but is actually genus name of another plant that does not
occur in Texas)
-common aquarium plants introduced into streams and lakes of
Cross Timbers. Vallisnera is native in some E and SE Texas
waters
-Female flowers float on surface and male flowers break off at
surface (great fish food) and float to female. Once pollinated
long peduncles recoil pulling flowers underwater to form fruits
Egeria densa
http://plants.usda.gov/
Biotic Pollination
-Co-evolution between plant and animal based on mutual benefit
(mutualism) or where the plant benefits and animal is harmed
(parasitism or deceit pollination)
Mutualistic relationships based on three major rewards to animals:
Invertebrate Pollinators -Flies (Dipterophily)
Hover Flies
Usual Floral Morphology:
Long tubular flowers with corolla marked as a guide for fly’s
siphoning mouthparts on Private Life of Plants video
Carrion Flies (Sapromyophily) “flies that are
decay lovers”
Usual Floral Morphology:
Examples of Sapromyophiles
Deadhorse Arum Araceae Pg 1090 SMIFNCT
-deceit pollination with spathe and spadix that attracted carrion flies in
gull rookeries in Mediterranean on Private Life of Plants video
Stapelia Asclepiadaceae Pg 274 SMIFNCT
-deceit pollination as attract carrion flies that remove pollinia from
corona of large purple flowers that smell like decaying protein
Examples of Sapromyophiles
Aristolochia Aristolochiaceae Pg 272 SMIFNCT
-deceit pollination with bilateral perianth with hairy opening and
odors that mimics a corpse
Example of a saprophile “decay lover”
Titan Arum on Private Life of Plants video
-has sapromyophilic floral morphology and deceit pollination but
attracts sweat bees and dung beetles instead flies
-has a spathe and spadix and is the world’s largest unbranched
inflorescence (3 meters tall and one meter wide)
-produces a dead fish odor
-large inflorescence to distribute odor across isolated islands of
Sumatra (south of Thailand in Indian Ocean)
Invertebrate Pollinators -Beetles
(Coleopterophily)
Usual Floral Morphology:
Examples of plant families with
Coleopterophily
Magnoliaceae Magnolia
-radial symmetry with many free parts and lots pollen
-mutualism
Examples of plant families with
Coleopterophily
Some species in Nymphaceae Nymphaea Pgs. 101, 842-845 SMIFNCT
-mutualistic
Examples of plant families with
Coleopterophily
Papaveraceae Pgs. 872-877 SMIFNCT
Argemone (prickly poppy)
-mutualistic
Invertebrate Pollinators -Bees and Wasps
(Hymenopterophily)
Bee Pollination (Melittophily = “bee lover”)
-20,000 different species of bee pollinators
Usual Floral Morphology:
-some with spurs to hold nectar and oil (oil collecting bee with hairy
legs that pollinates wild snapdragon in South Africa on Private Life
of Plants video)
Examples of Melittophily
Scrophulariaceae Penstemon including P. cobaea
Pgs. 102, 1006-1007 SMIFNCT
-sterile stamen that is pubescent called a staminode gives them
their common name beardtongue
-bilabiate with staminode acting like a “tail hook” for bees
-white to lavender-blue corolla with purple and UV nectar guides
-mutualistic
Examples of Melittophily
Fabaceae
Lupinus texensis bluebonnet SMIFNCT Pgs. 97, 671-673
-blue papillonaceous flowers
-mutualistic
Acacia farnesiana huisache SMIFNCT Pgs. 624, 627
-small regular flowers in a head with 20-40 yellow stamens
per flower
-bees use stamens as a tailhook and use buzz pollination to
Remove pollen from stamens like the bees did with South
African gentian on Private Life of Plants video
-mutualistic
Examples of Melittophily
Orchidaceae
Calopogon tuberosus Pgs. 1214,1217 SMIFNCT
-Thien & Marcks (Canadian Journal of Botany1972) found that the
brush of hairs on the lip apparently serves as a "pseudopollen"
lure, attracting naive, recently emerged bumblebees. The bees,
expecting a reward of nectar and/or pollen, land on the hairs. At
this point, the hinged labellum swings down under the weight of
the bee and positions the bee on the column, where pollinia can be
placed on its back. If the bee already carries pollinia, it will
contact the stigma and thus pollinate the plant.
-deceit pollination or parasitism
Examples of Melittophily
Orchidaceae
Private Life of Plants video
South African orchids offer inedible oil that bees use to make
phermones that attract female bees. Each species of bee has
its own species of orchid that it uses to make its own “brand” of
perfume. In the process of gathering oil, pollinia are attached
for cross pollination.
-mutualism
European bee mimic orchids use mimicry and deceit pollination.
Flowers are bilateral, hairy, and colored and smell like a female
bee. When they try and mate with the flower pollinia are
attached for cross pollination.
-deceit pollination or parasitism
Invertebrate Pollinators -Bees and Wasps
(Hymenopterophily)
Wasps
Floral morphology is highly variable.
Examples from Private Life of Plants video from Australia
Ficus sps. (figs) Pgs. 829-830 SMIFNCT
-flowers enclosed in inflorescence have eggs that hatch and
males mate with females and die. Females leave inflorescence
and lay eggs in another inflorescence insuring cross pollination
-mutualism
Hammer orchids mimic female wingless wasps. As male tries to
fly away and mate with bilateral, hairy mimic, pollinia are attached
-deceit pollination or parasitism
Invertebrate Pollinators -Butterflies and
Moths (Lepidopterophily)
Floral Morphologies:
Butterfly
Moth
Examples of butterfly pollinated plants
Justicia Pgs 213, 215 SMIFNCT
-mutualism
Mountain Pride Butterfly from South Africa on Private Lives of
Plants video pollinates tubular red flowers of :
Crassulaceae- Crassula with red tubular flower on video
Iridaceae- Gladiolus with red tubular flower on video
Orchidaceae- Red orchid at base of waterfall that attached pollinia
onto butterfly
-all mutualistic
Examples of moth pollinated plants
Liliaceae (Agavaceae on pgs. 108, 1082-1085 SMIFNCT)
Yucca
-carries balls of pollen from one plant to another and cross-pollinates
flowers. Lays eggs in one locule of ovary and larvae consume seeds that
develop there. Other 2/3s of seeds are dispersed.
-mutualistic
Examples of moth pollinated plants
Onagraceae
Oenothera Pgs. 101, 862-865 SMIFNCT
-mutualism
Solanaceae
Datura Pgs. 87, 1018-1021 SMIFNCT
-mutualism
Vertebrate Pollinators
-rarer than invertebrates
-mainly birds and bats
-in Private Life of Plants video, mice pollinate downward growing
flowers of African Protea and lemurs with long tongues and hands
pollinate stout, tubular flowers of Madagascar Traveler’s Palm
-in New Zealand flowering plants, because there are no native
mammals except bats, reptiles, such as geckos serve as
pollinators
Vertebrate Pollinators
Usual Floral Morphology:
Birds (Ornithophily)
Examples of Ornithophily
Scrophulariaceae
Penstemon red beardtongue of Southwest USA
-mutualism with hummingbirds
Examples of Ornithophily
Fabaceae
Erythrina coral bean Pg. 89, 658-659
-mutualism with hummingbirds
Examples of Ornithophily
Ranunculaceae
Aquilegia red columbine Pgs. 78, 918-920
-mutualism with hummingbirds
Examples of Ornithophily
Private Life of Plants video
1. Stained or scarlet-glass window plant of South America with
red patches in leaves and reduced flowers
2. Proteas and aloes in South Africa with red or red-orange,
tubular corollas
3. Kangaroo Paw plant of Australia brushes pollen on the
honey eater bird as it harvests nectar from bilateral flowers
Bat Pollination (Chiropterophily)
Usual Floral Morphology:
Examples of Chiropterophily
Cactaceae
-mutualism with Saguaro or Organ-pipe cacti of southwestern
USA
-pollinated by nectar feeding bats that migrate along the path of
the blooming cacti.
Examples of Chiropterophily
Example from Private Life of Plants video
Durion Tree of Borneo (south Thailand in Indian Ocean) is
pollinated by fruit bats