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Comparative pollination biology in two sympatric varieties of C ypripedium macranthos ( O rchidaceae) on R ebun I sland, H okkaido, J apan
Author(s) -
Sugiura Naoto,
Takahashi Hideki
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
plant species biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.419
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1442-1984
pISSN - 0913-557X
DOI - 10.1111/1442-1984.12055
Subject(s) - pollinator , biology , pollination , sympatric speciation , pollen , botany , sensu , nectar , ecology , genus
C ypripedium macranthos sensu lato typically has purple‐pink flowers with no nectar and harvestable pollen. On R ebun I sland, H okkaido, J apan, purple‐pink‐flowered C . macranthos var. macranthos individuals rarely grow among numerous pale‐cream‐flowered C . macranthos var. rebunense plants. In both varieties, flower size is similar, their flowering periods completely overlap, and they share the same pollinator ( B ombus pseudobaicalensis ). However, in only one of 12 years from 2001 to 2012 did var. macranthos attain an annual fruit‐set ratio (an estimate of pollination success) higher than that of sympatric var. rebunense plants. These findings strongly suggest that in C . macranthos on R ebun I sland, flower color results in the differential pollination success, because the pollinator prefers pale‐cream C ypripedium flowers and/or avoids purple‐pink ones, thereby producing pollinator‐mediated selection favoring pale‐cream flowers.