Dyssochroma viridiflorum (Solanaceae): a reproductively bat-dependent epiphyte from the Atlantic rainforest in Brazil.

ABSTRACT: Few Neotropical plant species seem to depend on the same animal type both for pollination and seed dispersal, and the known instances refer mostly to birds as the agents in these two phases of a plant reproductive cycle. Dyssochroma viridiflorum (Solanaceae), an epiphyte endemic to the Atlantic rainforest in south-eastern Brazil, was found to be visited by phyllostomid bats for nectar as well as for fruits, with the pollination and seed dispersal of the plant ensured by these flying mammals. The greenish flowers open at night and are visited by the nectar-feeding bat Glossophaga soricina, whereas the yellowish-white fruits are consumed by two species of fruit-eating bats, Carollia perspicillata and Sturnira lilium. Only clinging visits, an uncommon behavioural pattern for glossophagine bat

SUBMITTER: Sazima M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4244854 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature