Notes on the floral sexuality of some species of the tree genus Triplaris (Polygonaceae)

Abstract

The majority of angiosperms (~94 %) are synoecious, with only a small minority separating the production of the two gamete types onto different biological individuals (dioecy). For many plant species, however, reproductive systems and habits are not well documented. This is particularly true of tropical trees, which, despite their conspicuity, are poorly understood. Plants in the genus Triplaris have been consistently described as strictly dioecious. After morphologic analysis using a dissecting microscope, here I present a number of fully-formed perfect (hermaphroditic) flowers observed on Triplaris herbaria specimens.