Register      Login
Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Floral traits, pollination ecology and breeding system of three Clematis species (Ranunculaceae) in Yunnan province, southwestern China

Nan Jiang A B , Wen-Bin Yu A B , Hong-Zhe Li A C and Kai-Yun Guan A D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, Yunnan, P. R. China.

B Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, P. R. China.

C Faculty of Traditional Chinese Pharmacy, Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunming 650500, Yunnan, P. R. China.

D Corresponding author. Email: guanky@mail.kib.ac.cn

Australian Journal of Botany 58(2) 115-123 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT09163
Submitted: 16 September 2009  Accepted: 2 January 2010   Published: 29 March 2010

Abstract

Flowers of Clematis display showy corollas and diversified shapes. This diversity motivates study of adaptive evolution of flower–pollinator interactions and the functional association between floral traits and plant mating strategies. An integrative study was undertaken, which focused on pollination and reproductive biology of three species representing all three floral types of Clematis. Floral traits were measured, and pollinator assemblages were observed in the field. Bagging, hand-pollination and removal treatments were used to examine breeding systems. The inbreeding depression and pollen limitation were estimated by fruit-set and seed production obtained from pollination treatments. Their floral traits are distinctly different, but are highly associated with pollination syndrome and breeding system. Among them, Clematis akebioides and C. rehderiana may be facultative autogamy (the former was delayed selfing, and the later competing selfing), and C. chrysocoma may be nearly obligate outcrossing. These conclusions are reflected in their stamen-pistil ratios. The levels of inbreeding depression are negatively associated with autonomous self-pollination. Evolution of self-pollination in C. akebioides and C. rehderiana, and pollen limitation in reproduction of the three Clematis species are discussed. This present study, integrating with previous results, will help us to comprehensively recognise and understand the pollination system and reproductive characteristics of Clematis.


Acknowledgements

This study was supported by grants from National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, No. 2007CB411600). We are grateful to Hua-Jie He (Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS) and Za Cui (Forestry Administration of Zhongdian County) for kind help in the field; to Andrew Smith (Fellow of Australian Academy of Science) and Patrick O’Connor (The University of Adelaide) for their suggestions and corrections of the English writing; two anonymous reviewers and Shuang-Quan Huang (Wuhan University) for valuable comments and suggestions.


References


Ashman TL, Knight TM, Steets JA, Amarasekare P, Burd M, Campbell DR, Dudash MR, Johnston MO, Mazer SJ, Mitchell RJ, Morgan MT, Wilson WG (2004) Pollen limitation of plant reproduction: ecological and evolutionary causes and consequences. Ecology 85, 2408–2421.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Barrett SCH (1998) The evolution of mating strategies in flowering plants. Trends in Plant Science 3, 335–341.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Barrett SCH (2002a) The evolution of plant sexual diversity. Genetics 3, 274–284.
CAS | PubMed |
open url image1

Barrett SCH (2002b) Sexual interference of the floral kind. Heredity 88, 154–159.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Barrett SCH, Harder LD (1996) Ecology and evolution of plant mating. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 11, 73–79.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Barrett SCH, Harder LD, Worley AC (1996) The comparative biology of pollination and mating in flowering plants. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 351, 1271–1280.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Bond WJ (1994) Do mutualisms matter? Assessing the impact of pollinator and disperser disruption on plant extinction. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 344, 83–90.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Borkent CJ, Harder LD (2007) Flies (Diptera) as pollinators of two dioecious plants: behaviour and implications for plant mating. Canadian Entomologist 139, 235–246.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Burd M (1994) Bateman principle and plant reproduction: the role of pollen limitation in fruit and seed set. Botanical Review 60, 83–139.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Carrió E, Herreros R, Bacchetta G, Guemes J (2008) Evidence of delayed selfing in Fumana juniperina (Cistaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences 169, 761–767.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Charlesworth D, Charlesworth B (1987) Inbreeding depression and its evolutionary consequences. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 18, 237–268.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Cruden RW (1977) Pollen ovule ratios: a conservative indicator of breeding systems in flowering plants. Evolution 31, 32–46.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Dafni A (1992) ‘Pollination ecology: a practical approach.’ (Oxford University Press: New York)

Darwin C (1877) ‘On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilized by insects.’ (John Murray: London)

Dohzono I, Suzuki K (2002) Bumblebee-pollination and temporal change of the calyx tube length in Clematis stans (Ranunculaceae). Journal of Plant Research 115, 355–359.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Dohzono I, Suzuki K, Murata J (2004) Temporal changes in calyx tube length of Clematis stans (Ranunculaceae): a strategy for pollination by two bumble bee species with different proboscis lengths. American Journal of Botany 91, 2051–2059.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Faegri K , van der Pijl L (1979) ‘The principles of pollination ecology.’ (Pergamon Press: Oxford)

Fenster CB, Marten-Rodriguez S (2007) Reproductive assurance and the evolution of pollination specialization. International Journal of Plant Sciences 168, 215–228.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Fenster CB, Armbruster WS, Wilson P, Dudash MR, Thomson JD (2004) Pollination syndrome and floral specialization. Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics 35, 375–403.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Glover BJ (2007) ‘Understanding flowers and flowering: an integrated approach.’ (Oxford University Press: New York)

Gorelick R (2001) Did insect pollination cause increased seed plant diversity? Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. Linnean Society of London 74, 407–427.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Grant V , Grant KA (1965) ‘Flower pollination in the phlox family.’ (Columbia University Press: New York)

Grey-Wilson C (2000) ‘Clematis: the genus.’ (B T Batsford: London)

Harder LD, Thomson JD (1989) Evolutionary options for maximizing pollen dispersal of animal-pollinated plants. American Naturalist 133, 323–344.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Herlihy CR, Eckert CG (2002) Genetic cost of reproductive assurance in a self-fertilizing plant. Nature 416, 320–323.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Husband B, Schemske D (1996) Evolution of the magnitude and timing of inbreeding depression in plants. Evolution 50, 54–70.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Jiang N (2010) ‘Molecular phylogeny and reproductive biology of Clematis L. (Ranunculaceae)’. (Kunming Institute of Botany, Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences: Kunming)

Jiang N, Guan KY, Wang ZL (2007) Species diversity and geographical distribution of Clematis (Ranunculaceae) in Yunnan. Acta Botanica Yunnanica 29, 145–154. open url image1

Johnson SD, Steiner KE (2000) Generalization versus specialization in plant pollination systems. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 15, 140–143.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Kalisz S, Vogler DW, Hanley KM (2004) Context-dependent autonomous self-fertilization yields reproductive assurance and mixed mating. Nature 430, 884–887.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Kevan PG, Baker HG (1983) Insects as flower visitors and pollinators. Annual Review of Entomology 28, 407–453.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Knight TM, Steets JA, Ashman TL (2006) A quantitative synthesis of pollen supplementation experiments highlights the contribution of resource reallocation to estimates of pollen limitation. American Journal of Botany 93, 271–277.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Knight TM, Steets JA, Vamosi JC, Mazer SJ, Burd M, Campbell DR, Dudash MR, Johnston MO, Mitchell RJ, Ashman TL (2005) Pollen limitation of plant reproduction: pattern and process. Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics 36, 467–497.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Knuth P (1908) ‘Handbook of flower pollination based upon Hermann Müller’s work ‘The fertilisation of flowers by insects’ Vol. II (English edition).’ (Clarendon Press: Oxford)

Lande R, Schemske D (1985) The evolution of self-fertilization and inbreeding depression in plants. I. Genetic models. Evolution 39, 24–40.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Larson B, Barrett S (2000) A comparative analysis of pollen limitation in flowering plants. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. Linnean Society of London 69, 503–520.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Leppik EE (1988) ‘Floral evolution in relation to pollination ecology.’ (International Books & Periodicals Supply Service: New Delhi)

Lloyd DG, Schoen DJ (1992) Self- and cross-fertilization in plants. I. Functional dimensions. International Journal of Plant Sciences 153, 358–369.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

McCall C, Primack RB (1992) Influence of flower characteristics, weather, time of day, and season on insect visitation rates in three plant-communities. American Journal of Botany 79, 434–442.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Miikeda O, Kita K, Handa T, Yukawa T (2006) Phylogenetic relationships of Clematis (Ranunculaceae) based on chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequences. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 152, 153–168. open url image1

Ollerton J, Alarcon R, Waser NM, Price MV, Watts S, Cranmer L, Hingston A, Peter CI, Rotenberry J (2009) A global test of the pollination syndrome hypothesis. Annals of Botany 103, 1471–1480.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Richards AJ (1997) ‘Plant breeding systems.’ (Chapman & Hall: New York)

Stebbins GL (1970) Adaptive radiation of reproductive characteristics in angiosperms, I: Pollination mechanisms. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 1, 307–326.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Strauss SY , Whittall JB (2006) Non-pollinator agents of selection on floral traits. In ‘Ecology and evolution of flowers’. (Eds LD Harder, SCH Barrett) pp. 120–138. (Oxford University Press: New York)

Takhtajan A (1997) ‘Diversity and classification of flowering plants.’ (Columbia University Press: New York)

Timmerman-Erskine M, Boyd RS (1999) Reproductive biology of the endangered plant Clematis socialis (Ranunculaceae). The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 126, 107–116.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Toomey M , Leeds E , Chesshire C (2001) ‘An illustrated encyclopedia of Clematis.’ (Timber Press: Portland)

Wang WT , Bartholomew B (2001) Clematis L. In ‘Flora of China’. (Eds ZY Wu, P Raven) pp. 97–165. (Science Press: Beijing and Missouri Botanical Garden Press: St. Louis, MO)

Wang WT, Li LQ (2005) A new system of classification of the genus Clematis (Ranunculaceae). Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica 43, 431–488. open url image1

Waser NM, Chittka L, Price MV, Williams NM, Ollerton J (1996) Generalization in pollination systems, and why it matters. Ecology 77, 1043–1060.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Wesselingh RA (2007) Pollen limitation meets resource allocation: towards a comprehensive methodology. The New Phytologist 174, 26–37.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Wu ZY , Lu AM , Tang YC , Chen ZD , Li DZ (2003) ‘The families and genera of angiosperms in China: a comprehensive analysis.’ (Science Press: Beijing)

Young HJ, Young TP (1992) Alternative outcomes of natural and experimental high pollen loads. Ecology 73, 639–647.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1










Appendix 1.  Corolla types, distribution and field data of the three studied Clematis species
Click to zoom