THE STIGMATIC PAPILLAE OF AMYEMA (LORANTHACEAE): DEVELOPMENTAL RESPONSES TO PROTANDRY AND SURFACE ADAPTATIONS FOR BIRD POLLINATION

The flowers of Amyema miquelii and A. miraculosum are protandrous and pollinated by birds. Their dry‐type stigmatic surface is composed of unicellular papillae. At the male phase, these papillae are constricted with rugulose surfaces. During the transition to the female (pollen receptive) phase these cells expand, almost doubling in width while their surface becomes much smoother. Beneath the thin proteinaceous pellicle, the papillar wall consists of an extraordinarily thick bi‐layered cuticle overlying the primary wall. The two layers of the cuticle are stained by lipid dyes, but are distinguished by their different responses to other cytochemical tests. The reaction product for the enzyme esterase is present within crenulations on the papillar surface in small amounts, and in dense deposits in the cuticular clefts at the base between papillae. Not surprisingly, pollen tubes are unable to penetrate the thick papillar cap and enter the style through these clefts. The unusual thickness of the cuticle is interpreted as an adaptive response to pollination by perching birds (passerines) probing for nectar.