Flora最新文献

{"title":"Taxonomic delimitation in Aspidosperma sect. Pungentia (Apocynaceae) based on morphological and leaf anatomical traits","authors":"Suziele Galdino Batista ,&nbsp;Wanderleia de Vargas Araújo ,&nbsp;Rosani do Carmo de Oliveira Arruda ,&nbsp;Maria Ana Farinaccio","doi":"10.1016/j.flora.2024.152494","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flora.2024.152494","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><em>Aspidosperma</em> is one of the most representative genera in Apocynaceae in Brazil, composed of trees or small trees popularly known as <em>perobas</em>. The genus is distributed throughout tropical America, from Mexico to Argentina, with the exception of Chile. It comprises 80 species, 42 of which occur in Brazil, which is the center of diversity for the genus. <em>Aspidosperma triternatum</em> and <em>Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco</em>, name the <em>Aspidosperma</em> sect. <em>Pungentia</em>, section is easily distinguished from the others, even in the vegetative state, by grouping species that have leaves with pungent apexes, unique in the genus. However, <em>A. triternatum</em> and <em>A. quebracho-blanco</em> are difficult to distinguish due to the morphological similarities they present, such as the pungent apex of their whorled leaves and the yellowish white color of their flowers. Therefore, our objective was to develop a study to obtain leaf morphological using the usual methods of microscopy. The most important diagnostic characters useful for delimiting the species were: the number of pairs of secondary veins; the patterns of distance between these and the median and distal region, as well as the reticulation of these veins; the branching of the tertiary veins; the impression of the quaternary veins as well as their development and the shape of the areola; shape of epidermal cells; cuticular ornamentation pattern; types and distribution of trichomes; distribution of stomata; organization and number of cell layers in mesophyll. We have shown from the performed study that the species have remarkable morphological and anatomical differences which made possible a better circumscription of the group.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55156,"journal":{"name":"Flora","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140403430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Establishment of morphological markers to differentiate male and female plants in Ailanthus excelsa Roxb. using multiple logistic regression","authors":"Asmita Singh ,&nbsp;Kumar Sambhav Verma ,&nbsp;Mahesh Kumar Saini ,&nbsp;Jagdish Prasad ,&nbsp;Divyanshu Singh ,&nbsp;S L Kothari ,&nbsp;Aditi Kothari-Chhajer ,&nbsp;Uttar Kumar Tomar ,&nbsp;Vinod Singh Gour","doi":"10.1016/j.flora.2024.152495","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2024.152495","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><em>Ailanthus excelsa</em> Roxb., belongs to the family Simaroubaceae, is a fast-growing multipurpose tree, and used mainly as a source of fodder and shade. It bears male, female, and hermaphrodite flowers on separate plants. It has been observed that male plant has more leaf biomass during April-May in semi-arid regions of India (Jaipur). In its vegetative state, the sex of the tree cannot be identified. The present study has therefore been designed to investigate if there is any difference in male and female plants based on morphological descriptors namely stomata number, stomata length, stomata diameter, trichome number, trichome length, and trichome diameter. 20 plants with male flowers and 20 plants with female flowers have been studied. The data revealed that male plants have lower trichome diameter (11.91µm) than female (14.18 µm) plants. Other parameters do not show any statistically significant difference (P&gt;0.05). The Omnibus Tests of the Model Coefficient obtained for trichome diameter (0.042) is reliable in improving the model, implying that the model is the best fit. To test the validity of this model, the Hosmer and Lemeshow test was performed, and the <em>p-value</em> of chi-square (0.405 &gt; 0.05) indicates that the logistic model obtained above is the best-fit model. Further studies of trichome diameter at the seedling stage and then confirmation of plant sex at maturity level will help in establishing morphological markers in <em>A. excelsa</em> for identification of sex.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55156,"journal":{"name":"Flora","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140350431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Morphoanatomical and histochemical investigation of Monteverdia evonymoides (Reissek) Biral","authors":"Cintia Aparecida dos Anjos ,&nbsp;Lorene Armstrong ,&nbsp;Karine Amorim Fladzinski ,&nbsp;Leandro Taborda da Rocha ,&nbsp;Elisiane de Bona Sartor ,&nbsp;Luciane Dalarmi ,&nbsp;Deise Prehs Montrucchio ,&nbsp;Obdulio Gomes Miguel ,&nbsp;Josiane de Fátima Gaspari Dias ,&nbsp;Marilis Dallarmi Miguel","doi":"10.1016/j.flora.2024.152492","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flora.2024.152492","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><em>Monteverdia</em> species are known for their medicinal properties. However, due to similarities between species, the accurate identification of different species can be cumbersome. The study of morphoanatomy can contribute to the authentication of the species by providing additional information and contributing to the species characterization. Therefore, this work presents the morphoanatomy of the leaves and stems of <em>Monteverdia evonymoides</em> (Reissek) Biral analyzed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and histochemical approaches. Through these methods, we were able to determine, morphologically, the analyzed species features large and woody trees; its leaves are simple, distichous, and entire; the leaf margins are fringed; the stipules are caducous, triangular, and rarely persistent; the apex can vary from acute to obtuse, and the leaf blade has no trichomes. The frontal view presents polygonal epidermal cells, anomocytic, anisocytic, and tetracytic stomata that are found on the abaxial surface and are positioned at the same level as the ordinary epidermal cells; the epidermis is uniseriate and covered with a thick cuticle; the mesophyll is dorsiventral; the midrib is biconvex, and below the epidermis is the angular collenchyma, with one collateral bundle in an open arc and two dorsal bundles; in the ground parenchyma, there is a small collateral vascular bundle, with fibers juxtaposed to the phloem. Histochemical reactions were positive for lipophilic, phenolic, and lignified compounds. Among the observed characteristics, the stomatal classification of the leaf and the prominence of the midrib (adaxial surface) in this study help to identify <em>M. evonymoides</em> and may contribute to species taxonomy by comparing it with other species of the genus and quality control studies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55156,"journal":{"name":"Flora","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140279397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Natural history of pollination of an Asian bignoniaceous tree: The long-tubed flower and the not-so-long bird bill","authors":"Qiong-Yue Liang ,&nbsp;Yun-Bo Duan ,&nbsp;Chang-Qiu Liu ,&nbsp;Zhe Chen ,&nbsp;Qiang-Bang Gong ,&nbsp;Yan-Qiong Peng","doi":"10.1016/j.flora.2024.152481","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2024.152481","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Bird pollination is well-established in New World Bignoniaceae, but studies of species with floral traits suggestive of bird pollination in the Old World are lacking. Here we studied the pollination ecology of <em>Mayodendron igneum</em> to test the prediction of pollination by specialist flower-visiting birds. Observations from multiple sites showed that both the Streaked Spiderhunter (<em>Arachnothera magna</em>) and pollen-collecting bees were floral visitors. However, almost no fruit was produced if birds were excluded, suggesting that bees do not play a role in pollination, and that pollination is performed almost exclusively by birds in this self-incompatible tree. Measurements of floral traits revealed a typical bird pollination syndrome, and the nectar concentration and volume were both within the proposed ranges based on other flowers pollinated by specialist birds. However, the rather low level of sucrose (less than 2 %) in nectar sugar contradicts the expectation for nectar of flowers pollinated by specialist nectar-feeding birds. Although the Streaked Spiderhunter is among the longest-billed flower-visiting birds in Asia, its bill is only 2/3 of the corolla tube in length, suggesting that the bird can extend the tongue to access nectar. This study is the first to experimentally confirm bird pollination in the Old World Bignoniaceae. It also indicates aspects that are possibly characteristic of spiderhunter pollination systems, i.e. high degrees of specialization, unusual nectar sugar composition, and floral tubes much longer than bird bills.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55156,"journal":{"name":"Flora","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140191145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pollination of Disa engleriana (Orchidaceae): Floral modifications for deposition of pollinaria on the abdomen of large bees and wasps","authors":"Steven D. Johnson","doi":"10.1016/j.flora.2024.152491","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2024.152491","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The evolution of complex floral morphology in orchids can be attributed largely to mechanisms that ensure precise placement of pollinaria on the bodies of animal flower visitors. Floral advertisements and rewards also play a key role in selective attraction of animals that are suitable as pollen vectors. Previous studies of the large African orchid genus <em>Disa</em> have demonstrated high levels of pollination system specialization and have identified functions of floral morphology for transfer of pollen, but studies of pollination in members of the tropical clade of <em>Disa</em> sect. <em>Micranthae</em> have been lacking. This clade is characterized by highly unusual floral morphology, including vertical anthers and pronounced spatial separation between a nectar-producing spur located in the centre of the dorsal sepal and the rostellum lobes that serve to attach pollinaria to flower visitors. In a study conducted in central Zambia, I found that the flowers of <em>Disa engleriana</em> are pollinated by large wasps (Eumeninae and Scoliidae) and carpenter bees. These insect groups carry pollinaria near the tip of their abdomen, which contacts the rostellum when the abdomen is tucked under the flower for balance during nectar-feeding. The pollinaria are rigid and project at 90˚ from the underside of the abdomen such that they contact the deeply recessed stigma during subsequent flower visits. This study reveals a new mechanism of pollen transfer in <em>Disa</em> and sheds light on the evolution of the highly complex floral morphology of this large orchid clade</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55156,"journal":{"name":"Flora","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0367253024000446/pdfft?md5=83c4012c25c0599a4bc3a87dfc96d057&pid=1-s2.0-S0367253024000446-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140187491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Zygotic quiescence prolongs the reproductive cycle in Berchemia sinica (Rhamnaceae)","authors":"Fang Ma ,&nbsp;Yaolei Fu ,&nbsp;Wenjun Wei ,&nbsp;Ziwei Li ,&nbsp;Jing Liu ,&nbsp;Baoxia Bi ,&nbsp;Wenzhe Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.flora.2024.152493","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flora.2024.152493","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>More than two-thirds of the species in <em>Berchemia</em> exhibit remarkable reproductive phenology, characterized by prolonged fruit ripening and the occurrence of overlapping fruit ripening and flowering. However, the underlying reasons for these phenomena remain unknown. Therefore, this study employed routine paraffin section technology, histochemical technique and scanning electron microscopy to investigate embryo sac development, differences between male and hermaphroditic flowers, as well as the overwintering strategy in <em>Berchemia sinica</em>. The findings of this study revealed a significant reduction in pollen viability and the number of pollen grains per flower in hermaphroditic compared to male flowers. Following fertilization, the ovary of hermaphroditic flowers does not undergo significant enlargement but gradually enters the state of zygotic quiescence. Zygotic quiescence prolongation is the main reason for the long reproductive cycle of <em>B. sinica</em>, and it takes approximately 14 months for the entire cycle from flower bud differentiation to fruit ripening to complete. Long reproductive cycle and complex overwintering mechanism exhibited by <em>B. sinica</em> resemble those seen in species belonging to Betulaceae, Fagaceae, Tapisciaceae, and Theaceae, suggesting convergent evolution during Earth's glacial period resulted in similar adaptive structures among these groups delayed fruit ripening leads to overlap between current year's flowers with previous year's fruits. The trade-off between flower and fruit for reproductive resources may have driven evolutionary transition from ancestral hermaphroditism towards androdioecy in <em>Berchemia</em>.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55156,"journal":{"name":"Flora","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140203454","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Biogeographical patterns of Pinguicula L. (Lentibulariaceae) in the Americas revealed by endemicity and habitat suitability analyses","authors":"Yoannis Domínguez ,&nbsp;Paul Temple ,&nbsp;Ivan Pančo ,&nbsp;Vitor F.O. Miranda","doi":"10.1016/j.flora.2024.152484","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2024.152484","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Butterworts (<em>Pinguicula</em> L.) exhibit a widespread and highly discontinuous distribution in the American continents that host 87 species showing a high level of endemism. To increase our understanding of how such biogeographical patterns originated, we searched for areas of endemism and modelled the suitable habitats for three functional groups of species: temperate heterophyllous, tropical heterophyllous and homophyllous, including their respective geographic subgroups. This approach enabled us to analyse potential distribution changes over time, from the Last Interglacial to the present, and to compare range shifts with the current known distribution in the study area. Through an endemicity analysis, we identified three areas of endemism within the Neotropical region, encompassing two centres of endemism: the Antillean subregion and the Mexican Transition Zone. The models we developed demonstrated high accuracy in predicting the suitable habitats for each group (AUC = 0.906–0.982; TSS = 0.682–0.985). Different sets of bioclimatic variables played a significant role in influencing the potential distribution of <em>Pinguicula</em> functional groups, resulting in differential range shifts from the LIG to the present. Temperate heterophyllous and homophyllous species from southeastern North America, the Caribbean and northern South America experienced severe range contraction during the LGM. Conversely, tropical heterophyllous and homophyllous species from northern South America exhibited range expansion from the LGM to the present. Stable suitable habitats identified in Mexico and eastern Cuba throughout the analysed time periods were closely associated with the two centres of endemism, likely serving as refugia. In contrast, other suitable areas displaying climatic stability were not retrieved as current endemic-rich regions. Therefore, these centres of endemism represent key areas for the conservation of <em>Pinguicula</em> diversity in the Americas, as they can promote the survival of lineages under future climatic variations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55156,"journal":{"name":"Flora","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140141481","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Describing heterostyly, pollen, and sexual organ reciprocity in Rourea chrysomalla (Connaraceae), a rare and threatened species from the Brazilian Cerrado","authors":"Joicelene Regina Lima da Paz ,&nbsp;Beatriz Ribeiro dos Santos ,&nbsp;Túlio Freitas Filgueira Sá ,&nbsp;Jair Eustáquio Quintino Faria ,&nbsp;Wagner Pereira Silva ,&nbsp;Cássio Augusto Patrocinio Toledo ,&nbsp;Camila Magalhães Pigozzo ,&nbsp;Talita Kely Bellonzi ,&nbsp;Eduardo Custódio Gasparino ,&nbsp;Vinicius Castro Souza ,&nbsp;Mario Vallejo-Marín ,&nbsp;Hélder Nagai Consolaro","doi":"10.1016/j.flora.2024.152483","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.flora.2024.152483","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><em>Rourea chrysomalla</em> is a rare and endemic plant species from the Brazilian Cerrado, presumably threatened and lacking records within conservation units. In this study, we recorded and characterized, for the first time, the floral and pollen dimorphism, as well as the reciprocity of sexual organs among different morphs of <em>R. chrysomalla</em>. For this purpose, fertile individuals were observed over three years in two natural populations and supplemented by herbarium data. This species is distylous and distinctly exhibits two types of flowers, each characterized by stamens arranged in two whorls of unequal lengths: L-styled and S-styled morphs, both occuring in similar proportions in the two populations. Cross-pollination among anthers of any stamen whorl in L-styled flowers and stigmas in S-styled flowers is more precise in the two morphs, while anthers in S-styled flowers are less reciprocal with the stigmas in L-styled flowers. S-styled flowers exhibit larger pollen grains compared to L-styled flowers, with no differences between the two whorls of stamens. The balanced proportion of floral morphs provides equal opportunities for pollen donation and reception, and reciprocity between morphs is essential for the conservation of <em>R. chrysomalla</em> due to its limited distribution and low population density in the central Brazilian savanna.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55156,"journal":{"name":"Flora","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140148615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Floral biology and flower visitors of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) in the upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia","authors":"M. Alejandra Jaramillo,&nbsp;Jaime Reyes-Palencia,&nbsp;Pedro Jiménez","doi":"10.1016/j.flora.2024.152480","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2024.152480","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Cocoa (<em>Theobroma cacao</em> L.) is an important crop, but yield is generally low. Improving yield requires detailed understanding of the reproductive ecology, especially the pollination system and factors determining pollination success, such as proximity to natural areas. Since the 1940s biting midges have been proposed as the pollinators of cocoa flowers but this idea has recently been questioned in various studies. We observed cocoa flowers and their visitors during anthesis, we compare cocoa flower visitors during the day and night and also in plantations connected and disconnected to natural forests. Observations of flowers during anthesis revealed that cocoa flowers are protandrous, open at night, persist for three days and are receptive only during the day. A diversity of insects visited flowers throughout 24 h. In general, insect visitors were more diverse during the day and in plantations connected to forests compared to those not connected to forests. Fifty five percent of the total insect species visited the cocoa flowers at night, all insect species visited cocoa flowers in plantations connected to natural forests and 62.5 % of those visited cocoa flowers in plantations disconnected with forests. Hymenoptera and Diptera were the main visitors and a total of eleven insect species carried cocoa pollen grains. Among those, two species of biting midges (Ceratopogonidae flies) and two species of stingless bees (Meliponini bees) were the most common. While biting midges were the most common visitors, the stingless bee <em>Tetragonisca angustula</em> carried large cocoa pollen loads and interacted with both the male and female parts of the flower. Ants also visited cocoa flowers, mainly at night. The most common visitors of cocoa flowers in cocoa plantations in the upper Magdalena Valley in Colombia are diurnal biting midges and stingless bees, but also nocturnal ants, suggesting that the pollination system of cocoa flowers may be locally less specialized than previously thought. Future research should investigate the effectiveness of various insect groups as pollinators.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55156,"journal":{"name":"Flora","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0367253024000331/pdfft?md5=7907cfc09bc15b1ce3a142fad3f37a64&pid=1-s2.0-S0367253024000331-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140113921","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nectary microstructure and nectar production in two species of Cephalocereus (Cactaceae) and their natural hybrid","authors":"Whaleeha Gudiño ,&nbsp;David E. Torres ,&nbsp;Gabriel Merino ,&nbsp;Eleazar Martínez-Barajas ,&nbsp;Judith Márquez-Guzmán","doi":"10.1016/j.flora.2024.152482","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2024.152482","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Variation in the quantity and quality of reward substances produced by flowers influences reproductive success in angiosperms. In this study, a comparative analysis of nectaries and nectar traits (volume, concentration and sugar composition) was performed on the hybrid <em>Cephalocereus columna-trajani</em> × <em>C. tetetzo</em> and its parental species to identify phenotypic variation that could affect reproductive success. The presence of nectarostomata and two types of nectary cells are significant, as well as the presence of xylem and phloem. Furthermore, possible interspecific differences in the amount of starch and mucilage may be relevant. Interspecific variation in nectar volume and concentration was found, with the hybrid exhibiting the highest concentration. All three taxa presented hexose-dominated nectar. In conclusion, <em>C. columna-trajani</em> × <em>C. tetetzo,</em> like its parental species has a functional and anatomically well-formed nectary. Differences in traits such as the amount of starch and mucilage associated with nectar volume, in combination with differences in nectar concentration could have potential consequences for fitness. Our results confirm previous reports on the development of functional structures in hybrid flowers and serve as the basis for future studies testing whether the differences observed here govern the dynamics of competition in hybridization zones.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55156,"journal":{"name":"Flora","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140103926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}