Reproductive biology of an endangered lithophytic shrub and implications for its conservation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Plants in cliff habitats may evolve specific reproductive strategies to cope with harsh environments, and unraveling these reproductive characteristics can improve our understanding of survival strategies and lithophyte evolution. This understanding is especially important for efforts to protect rare and endemic plants. Here, we investigated the reproductive biology of Lonicera oblata, an endangered lithophytic shrub that is scattered in highly fragmented and isolated cliff habitats of the Taihang and Yan mountains in North China.

Results

Flowers of L. oblata are herkogamous and protandrous, characteristics that can prevent autogamy at the single-flower level, and insects are necessary for pollination. The outcrossing index, pollen/ovule ratio, and the results of

SUBMITTER: Wu YM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8862588 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature