Secondary pollen presentation and psychophily in Vernonia albicans & V. cinerea (Asteraceae)

• Autores: M. Mallikarjuna Rao, A.J. Solomon Raju, Venkata Ramana
• Localización: Phytologia Balcanica: International Journal of Balkan Flora and Vegetation, ISSN 1310-7771, Vol. 23, Nº. 2, 2017, págs. 171-186
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Vernonia albicans and Vernonia cinerea produce two or three generations from seeds during rainy season. In both, the capitulua produce only disc florets. The florets are monochromatic in V. albicans and dichromatic in V. cinerea. The florets are protandrous, temporally dioecious and display secondary pollen presentation using brush mechanism to avoid autonomous pollination. The two Vernonia species are entomophilous. V. albicans is exclusively psychophilous while V. cinerea is principally psychophilous (pollination by butterflies).

    Thrips also pollinate the florets in both the species while using them as breeding and feeding sites. The fruit is cypsela and anemochorous. As the plants grow in well-drained nutrient-deficient soils of open habitats, they act as pioneer species and, hence, have the potential for use in the restoration of degraded lands.