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Flowers adaptively face down‐slope in 10 forest‐floor herbs
Author(s) -
USHIMARU A.,
KAWASE D.,
IMAMURA A.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
functional ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.272
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1365-2435
pISSN - 0269-8463
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2006.01153.x
Subject(s) - biology , pollination , pollinator , temperate climate , pollen , ecology , reproductive success , forest floor , botany , ecosystem , population , demography , sociology
Summary1 An animal‐pollinated plant living on a slope should orientate its flowers down‐slope towards the more open space if by doing so it receives more pollinator visits and thereby achieves increased reproductive success. 2 We measured flower orientation relative to slope direction on individuals of 10 species of forest‐floor herbs in cool temperate forests in Japan. For one of these species, Erythronium japonicum , we also manipulated flower orientation to test experimentally for its effects on both male and female reproductive function. 3 In all 10 species, flowers were preferentially orientated down‐slope. This pattern was more pronounced in plants growing on steeper slopes. 4 Our manipulative field experiment in Erythronium japonicum demonstrated that pollen dispatch was highest in flowers orientated down‐slope. Additionally, flowers orientated up‐slope may have achieved a lower seed set on steep slopes. 5 We conclude that down‐slope orientation of flowers was a general phenomenon among the species that we studied, and that this behaviour was adaptive in enhancing plant fitness through pollination.