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Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 72(7)

Resupinate floral dimorphy in Chamaecrista nictitans (L.) Moench (Fabaceae-Caesalpinioideae)

Natan Messias Almeida A B , Vinicius Messas Cotarelli C , Thatiany Teixeira Bezerra D , Ana Virgínia Leite E , Reinaldo Rodrigo Novo A , Cibele Cardoso Castro https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7862-2155 A F * and Isabel Cristina Machado D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, 51280-400, Recife, PE, Brazil.

B Universidade Estadual de Alagoas, Rodovia AL 105, s/n, Graciliano Ramos, 57600-005, Palmeira dos Índios, AL, Brazil.

C Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, Rodovia BR 407, 12 Lote 543, Projeto de Irrigação Nilo Coelho, s/n, C1, 56300-000, Petrolina, PE, Brazil.

D Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Avenida Professor Moraes Rego, 1235, 50670-901, Recife, PE, Brazil.

E Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, 51280-400, Recife, PE, Brazil.

F Universidade Federal do Agreste de Pernambuco, Avenida Bom Pastor, s/n, 55292-272, Garanhuns, PE. Brazil.

* Correspondence to: cibele.castro@ufape.edu.br

Handling Editor: Dick Williams

Australian Journal of Botany 72, BT23051 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT23051
Submitted: 13 October 2023  Accepted: 11 September 2024  Published: 4 October 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Context

Resupination is the movement of developing buds that leads to a vertical inversion of the flowers at an angle of 180°. Chamaecrista nictitans exhibits two anther sizes, and nonresupinate and resupinate flowers in the same individual, which is known as monomorphic resupinate dimorphy.

Aims

We aimed to investigate the influence of monomorphic resupinate dimorphy upon pollen deposition on pollinators, capture by the stigma and on plant reproduction, using three populations of C. nictitans from NE Brazil as a model.

Methods

We assessed the floral biology, the proportion of nonresupinate and resupinate flowers in the populations, dynamics of pollen transfer between floral morphs, and the plant’s reproductive system.

Key results

All flowers have two anther sizes with similar pollen viability. The proportion of nonresupinate:resupinate flowers was 3:1 in all populations. The bee Florilegus (Euflorilegus) sp. was the only pollinator observed and had pollen of both flower morphs deposited on the underside part of the thorax and abdomen. The stigma of nonresupinate flowers received pollen from the pollinators’ underside of the abdomen, whereas the stigma of resupinate flowers received pollen from the pollinators’ underside of the thorax. The species is self-compatible but does not set fruits by spontaneous self-pollination. Therefore, natural fruit set had resulted from both intramorph- and intermorph-pollination in the same or in different individuals.

Conclusions

Both flower types have a similar pattern of pollen deposition on the pollinator’s body (underside of the abdomen and thorax) and only differ in relation to areas of pollen capture by the stigma (underside of the abdomen or underside of thorax).

Implications

The monomorphic resupinate dimorphy observed here improves the area of pollen deposition by the anthers on pollinator’s body and makes the capture of pollen by stigma sectored in the different floral types, similar to what is observed in other species presenting floral polymorphisms.

Keywords: Cassiinae, enantiostyly, floral polymorphism, mating system, pollination, reciprocal herkogamy.

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