Reproductive Biology of Palicourea fendleri and P. petiolaris (Rubiaceae), Heterostylous Shrubs of a Tropical Cloud Forest in Venezuela

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Abstract
P. fendleri and P. petiolaris (Rubiaceae) are sympatric, distylous tropical shrubs of cloud forest habitats in Venezuela; the former is strongly self-incompatible and the 2 floral morphs occur in a 1:1 ratio in natural populations. P. petiolaris exhibits different levels of self-compatibility in the different populations studied and deviations toward more pin morphs occur in some populations. In general, where the level of incompatibility is stronger, the population structure is closer to equilibrium. A population at the margin of the geographical range of P. petiolaris is composed of fully self-compatible pin plants. Self-compatibility may have arisen in that population from a mutation resulting in thrum like behavior of pollen in long styled plants. Fruit set and seed set of the 2 spp. are highly variable among the different populations. For P. petiolaris, the population which has the strongest level of self-incompatibility has the lowest fecundity.

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