Contrasting effects of pollinators on the pollination success of floral morphs of a distylous bowl-shaped flower.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

In distylous species, the reciprocal arrangement of sexual organs between long-styled and short-styled individuals promotes disassortative pollen flow through a fine-tuned interaction with pollinators. Despite its evolutionary importance, deviation from this expectation due to suboptimal pollinator performance has been little studied in species with open corollas. This study addresses which insects visiting the flowers of Linum narbonense (Linaceae) promote or break down the expected patterns of pollination.

Methods

Sixteen samplings performed in 12 populations allowed me to analyse the relationship between flower visitors and pollination performance of each floral morph. A total of 3494 stigmas were analysed to measure two components of pollination succe

SUBMITTER: Valverde J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12933682 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature