Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Floral biology and breeding system of Bauhinia forficata (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae), a moth-pollinated tree in southeastern Brazil

  • Reproductive Biology
  • Published:
Brazilian Journal of Botany Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Floral biology and breeding system of Bauhinia forficata (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae), a moth-pollinated tree in southeastern Brazil. Bauhinia trees have a wide variety of pollination and breeding systems that are affected by geographic distribution. Bauhinia species with nocturnal anthesis are usually chiropterophilous and/or sphingophilous. B. forficata Link has floral features that are typical of the sphingophilous condition and this report describes the floral biology, pollination, and breeding system of a population of this species in a small fragment of semideciduous forest in southeastern Brazil. Flowers lasted 18 h, anthesis started at dusk, and pollen release and nectar production occurred at 8:00 and 10:00 pm, respectively. Flowers were protandrous and the stigma became receptive around 11:00 pm with the bisexual phase ending at 12:00 am. Nectar was produced continuously; the mean total nectar volume/flower was 15.11 μL and the mean total nectar concentration was 25.9 %. B. forficata is a strictly sphingophilous species that is pollinated exclusively by Manduca sexta L., the body morphology and behavior of which favor pollen transfer. Visitation by the bees Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier and Xylocopa brasilianorum L. (Apidae) occurred in the morning, but these species were considered occasional and not legitimate pollinators. Despite the geographic distance separating the Brazilian B. forficata from the Venezuelan B. aculeata, both species show very convergent pollination systems but differs in their faunal composition. B. forficata is homomorphic and predominantly self-incompatible; cross-pollination produces twice as much fruit as natural open pollinations, indicating a pollen limitation and relative inefficiency of the pollinator, the latter effect may reflect habitat disturbance that favors geitonogamous pollination and decreases the efficiency of pollination. More studies are necessary to investigate the relationship between habitat disturbance and geographic distribution on the pollination and breeding systems of Bauhinia species.

Resumo

Biologia floral e sistema reprodutivo de Bauhinia forficata (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae), uma planta polinizada por mariposas no sudeste do Brasil. Bauhinia apresenta uma ampla variedade de sistemas de polinização e reprodução que são afetados pela distribuição geográfica. Espécies de Bauhinia com antese noturna são geralmente quiropterófilas e/ou esfingófilas. B. forficata Link. Possui atributos florais típicos de esfingofilia e este estudo descreve a biologia floral, polinização e sistema reprodutivo de uma população desta espécie em um pequeno fragmento de floresta semidecídua no sudeste do Brasil. Flores duraram 18 h, antese iniciou no entardecer, e liberação de pólen e produção de néctar ocorreu às 20:00 a 22:00 h, respectivamente. Flores são protândricas e estigma torna-se receptivo por volta de 23:00 h, com a fase bissexual terminando às 12:00 h do dia seguinte. Néctar foi produzido continuamente; a média do volume total de néctar foi de 15,11 μL e concentração média de 25,9 %. B. forficata é uma espécie estritamente esfingófila que é polinizada exclusivamente por Manduca sexta L., cuja morfologia corporal e comportamento favorecem a transferência de pólen. Visitação pelas abelhas Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier e Xylocopa brasilianorum L. (Apidae) ocorreram pela manhã, mas estas espécies foram consideradas ocasionais e não legítimos polinizadores. Apesar da distância geográfica separando a B. forficata brasileira da B. aculeata venezuelana, ambas espécies apresentaram sistemas de polinização convergentes mas diferindo quanto as espécies que compõem suas faunas. B. forficata é homomórfica e predominantemente autoincompatível; polinizações cruzadas produz o dobro de frutos que as polinizações naturais, indicando uma limitação polínica e relativa ineficácia do polinizador, talvez reflexo da destruição de habitat que favorece polinizações geitonogâmicas e reduzem a eficiência do polinizador. Estudos adicionais são necessários para investigar a relação entre destruição de habitat e distribuição geográfica sobre os sistemas de polinização e reprodução de espécies de Bauhinia.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alonso C, Mutikainen P, Herrera CM (2007) Ecological context of breeding system variation: sex, size and pollination in a (predominantly) gynodioecious shrub. Ann Bot 100:1547–1556

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arroyo MTK (1981) Breeding systems and pollination biology in Leguminosae. In: Polhill RM, Raven PH (eds) Advances in legume systematics. Kew, London, pp 723–769

    Google Scholar 

  • Bastida JM, Alcântara JM, Rey PJ, Vargas P, Herrera CM (2010) Extended phylogeny of Aquilegia: the biogeographical and ecological patterns of two simultaneous but contrasting radiations. Plant Syst Evol 284:171–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bawa KS (1990) Plant–pollinator interactions in tropical rain forests. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 21:399–422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beck J, Kitching IJ, Linsenmair KE (2006) Effects of habitat disturbance can be subtle yet significant: biodiversity of hawkmoth-assemblages (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) in Southeast-Asia. Biodivers Conserv 15:465–486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergallo HG (1990) Biologia floral e polinização de Bauhinia bongardii Steud. na Serra dos Carajás,Pará. Rev Bras Biol 50:401–405

    Google Scholar 

  • Bobrowiec PED, Oliveira PE (2012) Removal effects on nectar production in bat-pollinated flowers of the Brazilian cerrado. Biotropica 44:1–5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borba EL, Semir JO, Shepherd GJ (2001) Self-incompatibility, inbreeding depression and crossing potential in five Brazilian Pleurothallis (Orchidaceae) species. Ann Bot 88:89–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruneau A, Mercure M, Lewis GP, Herendeen PS (2008) Phylogenetic patterns and diversification in the caesalpinioid legumes. Botany 86:697–718

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bullock SH (1985) Breeding systems of trees in the flora of a tropical deciduous forest. Biotropica 17:287–301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carmo-Oliveira R, Morretes BL (2009) Stigmatic surface in the Vochysiaceae: reproductive and taxonomic implications. Acta Botanica Brasilica 23:780–785

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cosacov A, Nattero J, Cocucci AA (2008) Variation of pollinator assemblages and pollen limitation in a locally specialized system: the oil-producing Nierembergia linariifolia (Solanaceae). Ann Bot 102:723–734

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dafni A (1992) Pollination ecology: a practical approach. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Faegri K, Van Der Pijl L (1979) The principles of pollination ecology. Pergamon Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer E (1992) Foraging of nectarivorous bats on Bauhinia ungulata. Biotropica 24:579–582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghazoul J (1997) The pollination and breeding system of Dipterocarpus obtusifolius (Dipterocarpaceae) in dry deciduous forests of Thailand. J Nat Hist 31:901–916

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghazoul J (2004) Alien abduction: disruption of native plant–pollinator interactions by invasive species. Biotropica 36:156–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs PE (1990) Self-incompatibility in flowering plants: a Neotropical perspective. Revista Brasileira de Botânica 13:125–136

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs PE, Talavera S (2001) Breeding system studies with three species of Anagallis (Primulaceae): self-incompatibility and reduced female fertility in A. monelli L. Ann Bot 88:139–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs PE, Oliveira PE, Ranga NT (2003) Homomorphic self-incompatibility, with stylar rejection site, in Luehea grandiflora Mart. and Zucc. (Tiliaceae–Malvaceae s.l.). Plant Biol 5:419–422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldenberg R, Shepherd GJ (1998) Studies on the reproductive biology of Melastomataceae in “cerrado” vegetation. Plant Syst Evol 211:13–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez JM, Zamora R (1999) Generalization vs. specialization in the pollination system of Hormathophyla spinosa (Cruciferae). Ecology 80:796–805

    Google Scholar 

  • Haber WA, Frankie GW (1982) Pollination of Leuhea (Tiliaceae) in Costa Rican deciduous forest. Ecology 63:1740–1750

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haber WA, Frankie GW (1989) A tropical hawkmoth community: Costa Rican dry forest Sphingidae. Biotropica 21:155–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heithaus ER, Opler PA, Baker HG (1974) Bat activity and pollination of Bauhinia pauletia: plant–pollinator coevolution. Ecology 55:412–419

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heithaus ER, Stashko E, Anderson PK (1982) Cumulative effects of plant–animal interactions on seed production by Bauhinia ungulata, a neotropical legume. Ecology 63:1294–1302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herrera CM (1993) Selection on floral morphology and environmental determinants of fecundity in a hawk moth-pollinated violet. Ecol Monogr 63:251–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herrera CM (2005) Plant generalization on pollinators: species property or local phenomenon? Am J Bot 92:13–20

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Herrera CM, Castellanos MC, Medrano M (2006) Geographical context of floral evolution: towards an improved research programme in floral diversification. In: Harder LD, Barrett SCH (eds) Ecology and Evolution of Flowers. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 278–294

    Google Scholar 

  • Hokche O, Ramirez N (1990) Pollination ecology of seven species of Bauhinia L. (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae). Ann Mo Bot Gard 77:559–572

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janzen DH (1971) Euglossine bees as long-distance pollinators of tropical plants. Science 171:203–205

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kearns CA, Inouye DW (1993) Techniques for pollination biologists. University Press of Colorado, Niwot

    Google Scholar 

  • Koptur S (1983) Flowering phenology and floral biology of Inga (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae). Syst Bot 8:354–368

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lau CPY, Saunders RMK, Ramsden L (2009) Floral biology, breeding systems and population genetic structure of three climbing Bauhinia species (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae) in Hong Kong, China. J Trop Ecol 25:147–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linhart YS, Mendenhall JA (1977) Pollen dispersal by hawkmoths in a Lindenia rivalis Benth. Population in Belize. Biotropica 9:143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd DG (1992) Self- and cross-fertilization in plants. II. The selection of self-fertilization. Int J Plant Sci 153:370–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd DG, Webb CJ (1986) The avoidance interference between the presentation of pollen and stigmas in angiosperms. I. Dichogamy. N Z J Bot 24:135–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lopes LE, Buzato S (2007) Variation in pollinator assemblages in a fragmented landscape and its effects on reproductive stages of a self-incompatible tree, Psychotria suterella (Rubiaceae). Oecologia 154:305–314

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenzi H (2002) Árvores Brasileiras: manual de identificação e cultivo de plantas arbóreas nativas do Brasil, Vol I, 4th edn. Editora Plantarum, Nova Odessa

  • Manzanilla V, Bruneau A (2012) Phylogeny reconstruction in the Caesalpinieae grade (Leguminosae) based on duplicated copies of the sucrose synthase gene and plastid markers. Mol Phylogenet Evol 65:149–162

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martin FW (1959) Staining and observing pollen tubes in the style by means of fluorescence. Stain Technol 34:125–128

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moré M, Amorim FW, Benitez-Vieyra S, Medina AM, Sazima M, Cocucci AA (2012) Armament imbalances: match and mismatch in plant-pollinator traits of highly specialized long-spurred orchids. PLoS One 7(7):e41878

    Google Scholar 

  • Morellato PC, Leitão-Filho HF (1995) Ecologia e Preservação de uma Floresta Tropical Urbana: Reserva de Santa Genebra. Editora da Unicamp, Campinas

    Google Scholar 

  • Munin RL, Teixeira RC, Sigrist MR (2008) Esfingofilia e sistema de reprodução de Bauhinia curvula Benth. (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae) em cerrado no Centro-Oeste brasileiro. Revista Brasileira de Botânica 31:15–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliveira PE, Gibbs PE (1994) Pollination and breeding systems of six Vochysia species (Vochysiaceae) in Central Brazil. J Trop Ecol 10:509–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliveira PE, Sazima M (1990) Pollination biology of two species of Kielmeyera (Guttiferae) from Braziliam cerrado vegetation. Plant Syst Evol 172:35–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliveira PE, Gibbs PE, Barbosa AA (2004) Moth pollination of woody species in the Cerrados of Central Brazil: a case of so much owed to so few? Plant Syst Evol 245:41–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perret M, Chautems A, Spichiger R, Peixoto M, Savolainen V (2001) Nectar sugar composition in relation to pollination syndromes in Sinningieae (Gesneriaceae). Ann Bot 87:267–273

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ramirez N, Sobrevila C, Enrech NX, Ruiz-Zapata T (1984) Floral biology and breeding system of Bauhinia benthamiana Taub. (Leguminosae), a bat-pollinated tree in venezuelan “Llanos”. Am J Bot 71:273–280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richards AJ (1997) Plant breeding systems, 2nd edn. George Allen & Unwin, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruiz TZ, Arroyo MTK (1978) Plant reproductive ecology of a secondary deciduous tropical forest. Biotropica 10:221–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos GMT, Machado VLL, Giannotti E (1993) Visitantes florais de Bauhinia variegata L. (Leguminosae, Caesalpiniaceae). Revista Brasileira de Entomolgia 37:737–750

    Google Scholar 

  • Sazima M, Buzato S, Sazima I (1999) Bat-pollinated flower assemblages and bat visitors at two Atlantic Forest sites in Brazil. Ann Bot 83:705–712

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlumpberger BO, Cocucci AA, Moré M, Alicia N, Sérsic AN, Raguso RA (2009) Extreme variation in floral characters and its consequences for pollinator attraction among populations of an Andean cactus. Ann Bot 103:1489–1500

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Silberbauer-Gottsberger I, Gottsberger G (1975) Über sphingophile Angiospermen Brasiliens. Plant Syst Evol 123:157–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silva Matos DM, Freckleton RP, Watkinson AR (1999) The role of density-dependence in the population dynamics of a tropical palm. Ecology 80:2635–2650

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silva WR, Sazima M (1995) Hawkmoth pollination in Cereus peruvianus, a columnar cactus from southeastern Brazil. Flora 190:339–343

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinou C, Forest F, Lewis GP, Bruneau A (2009) The genus Bauhinia s.l. (Leguminosae): a phylogeny based on the plastid trnL–trnF region. Botany 87:947–960

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Souza EB, Costa CBN, Borba EL (2007) Ocorrência de auto-incompatibilidade homomórfica em Mitracarpus longicalyx E. B. Souza & M. F. Sales (Rubiaceae–Spermacoceae). Revista Brasileira de Botânica 30:281–287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steffan-Dewenter I, Mnzenberg U, Burger C, Thies C, Tscharntke T (2002) Scale-dependent effects of landscape context on three pollinator guilds. Ecology 83:1421–1432

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talavera S, Gibbs PE, Herrera J (1993) Reproductive-biology of Cistus ladanifer (Cistaceae). Plant Syst Evol 186:123–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talavera S, Gibbs PE, Fernández-Piedra MP, Ortiz-Herrera MA (2001) Genetic control of self-incompatibility in Anagallis monelli (Primulaceae: Myrsinaceae). Heredity 87:589–597

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Valiente-Banuet A, Arizmendi MC, Rojas-Martinez A, Dominguez-Canseco L (1996) Ecological relationships between columnar cacti and nectar feeding bats in Mexico. J Trop Ecol 12:103–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valiente-Banuet A, Molina-Freaner F, Torres A, Arizmende MC, Casas A (2004) Geographic differentiation in the pollination system of the columnar cactus Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum. Am J Bot 91:850–855

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vaz AMSF, Tozzi AMGA (2005) Sinopse de Bauhinia sect. Pauletia (Cav.) DC. (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae: Cercideae) no Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Botânica 28:477–491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wunderlin RP (1976) The Panamanian species of Bauhinia (Leguminosae). Ann Mo Bot Gard 63:346–354

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Drs. Marlies Sazima and George Shepherd for helpful suggestions at the start of this study and also his colleague Christiano Verola for assistance in the field at the beginning of this study. Two anonymous reviewers also provided useful suggestions and criticism of the study. Special thanks to Keith Spading Brown Jr., Andre Nemésio de Barros Pereira and Isabel Alves dos Santos for identifying the floral visitors and to the park manager of “Mata de Santa Genebra” for logistical support in the field. H. F. Paulino-Neto was supported by a grant from CAPES (Grant 724/00). This study was developed during postgraduate courses on the Ecology of Pollination and the Experimental Taxonomy of Plants offered by Drs. Marlies Sazima and George Shepherd, respectively, during my postgraduate studies in Ecology at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Hipólito Ferreira Paulino Neto

Authors
  1. Hipólito Ferreira Paulino Neto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hipólito Ferreira Paulino Neto.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Neto, H.F.P. Floral biology and breeding system of Bauhinia forficata (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae), a moth-pollinated tree in southeastern Brazil. Braz. J. Bot 36, 55–64 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-013-0011-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-013-0011-8

Keywords

Palavras-chave

Search

Navigation