Self Fertility in Wild Populations of Cichorium intybus L.

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Abstract
Two wild populations of C. intybus (Compositae) were examined to determine if self-compatible plants occur in nature and, if present, to measure the extent to which self compatibility (SC) is expressed. Approximately 70% of the individuals tested produced at least some seeds in response to self pollination. The expression of the trait, which varies markedly from day to day, does not appear to be influenced by ambient temperture, relative humidity, or light intensity measured at the time of pollination. Likewise, plant age appears to have no effect on the fluctuations in SC. A histological analysis of pollen tube growth, embryogeny, and endosperm development indicates that seeds produced in self-pollinated capitula are amphimictic (i.e., derived by normal sexual reproduction) and not agamospermic as other studies have suggested. Corroborating evidence for the occurrence of amphimixis is the outcome of an investigation of seed production in unpollinated capitula; no seeds were formed in heads that were not pollinated. The overall similarity in the expression of SC in wild plants and cultivated strains suggests that facultative inbreeding is part of the normal reproductive system of C. intybus and not merely a transient abnormality.