Abstract
Within the genus Colchicum of the Colchicaceae family, a small group of species native to the transitional belt of the Mediterranean and the Middle East deserts are characterized by unique morphological traits: nectarial appendages that occur at the base of the perianth segments and consist of two lamellae with teeth. An adaptive advantage to this unique morphological trait has yet to be presented. The morphology of the nectarial appendages was measured in three species and in a population representing a potential new species with similar traits for the first time. Nectarial appendages and nectar standing crop are larger for the inner whorl of perianth segments in all species, although the perianth segments are smaller. Intact flowers received more ant visits in outer than in inner whorl perianth nectaries although they had less nectar; removal of the nectarial appendages resulted in an opposite trend. Ant visits to flowers reduced nectar standing crop. Ant access pattern within flowers and the effect nectarial appendages had on it imply that these organs prevent ant access to nectaries. The negative effect they have on the nectar standing crop could reduce the fitness of the species assuming that ants do not pollinate. The role of nectarial appendages as nectar-theft deterrents is reinforced in light of the group’s harsh habitat and flowering season.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ballantyne G, Willmer P (2012) Nectar theft and floral ant-repellence: a link between nectar volume and ant-repellent traits? PLoS One 7:e43869
Beattie AJ, Turnbull C, Knox RB, Williams E (1984) Ant inhibition of pollen function: a possible reason why ant pollination is rare. Amer J Bot 71:421–426
Benjamini Y, Hochberg Y (1995) Controlling the false discovery rate:a practical and powerful approach to multiple testing. J Roy Statist Soc B 57:289–300
Blondel B, Aronson J, Bodiou JY, Boeuf G (2010) The Mediterranean region: biological diversity in space and time, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, New York
Cembrowski AR, Tan MG, Thomson JD, Fredrickson ME (2014) Ant and ant scent reduce bumblebee pollination of artificial flowers. Amer Naturalist 183:133–139
Cohen D, Shmida A (1993) The evolution of flower display and reward. Evol Biol 27:197–243
Dafni A, Shmida A (2002) Andromonecy in Colchicum steveni C. Koch (Liliaceae)–frequency, phenology and reserve allocation. Israel J Pl Sci 50:51–57
Dafni A, Shmida A, Avishai M (1981) Leafless autumnal flowering geophytes in the Mediterranean region. Pl Syst Evol 137:181–193
Dahlgren RMT, Clifford HT, Yeo PF (1985) The families of the monocotyledons. Springer-Verlag, Berlin
Dutton EM, Frederikson ME (2012) Why ant pollination is rare: new evidence and implications of the antibiotic hypothesis. Arthropod-Pl Interact 6:561–569
Eisikowitch D (1986) Morpho-ecological aspects on the pollination of Calotropis procera (Asclepiadaceae) in Israel. Pl Syst Evol 152:185–194
Eisikowitch D, Ivri Y, Dafni A (1986) Reward partitioning in Capparis spp. along ecological gradient. Oecologia 71:47–50
Feinbrun N (1953) The genus Colchicum of Palestina and neighbouring countries. Palestine J Bot Jerusalem Ser 6:71–95
Feinbrun N (1958) Chromosome numbers and evolution in the genus Colchicum. Evolution 12(2):173–188
Fragman O, Shmida A (1997) Diversity and adaptation of wild geophytes along an aridity gradient in Israel. Acta Hort 2:795–802
Galen C, Butchart B (2003) Ants in your plants: effects of nectar-thieves on pollen fertility and seed-siring capacity in the alpine wildflower, Polemonium viscosum. Oikos 101:521–528
Gómez JM, Zamora R, Hódar JA, García D (1996) Experimental study of pollination by ants in Mediterranean high mountain and arid habitats. Oecologia 105(2):236–242
Herrera C, Herrera J, Espadaler X (1984) Nectar thievery by ants from southern Spanish insect-pollinated flowers. Insect Soc 31:142–154
Irwin RE (2003) Impact of nectar robbing on estimates of pollen flow: conceptual predictions and empirical outcomes. Ecology 84:485–495
Irwin RE, Adler LS, Brody AK (2004) The dual role of floral traits: pollinator attraction and plant defense. Ecology 85:1503–1511
Irwin RE, Bronstein JL, Manson JS, Richardson L (2010) Nectar robbing: ecological and evolutionary perspectives. Annual Rev Ecol Evol Syst 41:271–292
Junker RR, Daehler CC, Dötterl S, Keller A, Blüthgen N (2011) Hawaiian ant-flower networks: nectar-thieving ants prefer undefended native over introduced plants with floral defenses. Ecol Monogr 81:295–311
Kaplan DR (2001) The science of plant morphology: definition, history, and role in modern biology. Amer J Bot 88:1711–1741
Keshet A (1997) Interactions between C. hierosolymitanum and C. stevenii and their pollinators in the autumn market in the Jerusalem area. MSc Thesis, Hebrew University, Jerusalem (in Hebrew)
Kleizen C, Midgley J, Johnson SD (2008) Pollination systems of Colchicum (Colchicaceae) in southern Africa: evidence for rodent pollination. Ann Bot (Oxford) 102:747–755
Manning JC, Goldblatt P (2005) Radiation of pollination systems in the Cape genus Tritoniopsis (Iridaceae: Crocoideae) and the development of bimodal pollination strategies. Int J Pl Sci 166:459–474
Ness JH (2006) A mutualism’s indirect costs: the most aggressive plant bodyguards also deter pollinators. Oikos 113:506–514
Persson K (1992) Liliaceae III. In: Rechinger KH (ed) Flora Iranica 170. Akademische Druck-und-Verlagsanstalt, Graz, pp 1–40
Persson K (1999) The genus Colchicum in Turkey: I. New species. Edinburgh J Bot 56:85–102
Persson K (2007) Nomenclatural synopsis of the genus Colchicum (Colchicaceae), with some new species and combinations. Bot Jahrb Syst 127:165–242
Persson K, Petersen G, Del Hoyo A, Seberg O, Jorgensen T (2011) A phylogenetic analysis of the genus Colchicum L. (Colchicaceae) based on sequences from six plastid regions. Taxon 60(5):1349–1365
Shmida A (1981) Mediterranean vegetation of Israel and California: similarities and differences. Israel J Bot 30:105–123
Shmida A, Burgess TL (1988) Plant growth form strategies and vegetation types in arid environments. In: Werger MJA, van der Aart PJM, During HJ, Verhoeven JTA (eds) Plant form and vegetation structure. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague, pp 211–241
Shmida A, Dafni A (1989) Blooming strategies, flower size and advertising in the ‘lily-group’ geophytes of Israel. Herbertia 45:111–123
Shmida A, Evenari M, Noy-Meir I (1986) Hot desert ecosystems: An integrated view. In: Evenari M, Noy-Meir I, Goodall DW (eds) Ecosystems of the World 12B. Hot deserts and arid shrublands. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 379–387
Stebbins GL (1970) Adaptive radiation of reproductive characteristics in angiosperms, I: pollination mechanisms. Annual Rev Ecol Syst 1:307–325
Stefanoff B (1926) Monografiya na roda Colchicum L. [Monographie der Gattung Colchicum L.]: Sborn Balg Akad Nauk Klon Prir-Mat 22:1–100 (in Bulgarian)
Vonshak M, Ionescu-Hirsch A (2009) A checklist of the ants of Israel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Israel J Entomol 39:33–55
Whitford WG, Kay CA, Schumacher AM (1975) Water loss in Chihuahuan desert ants. Physiol Zool 48:390–397
Willmer P (2011) Pollination and floral ecology. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Wolf M, Shmida A (1995) Association of flower and pollinator activity in the Negev Desert. In: Blume H, Berkowicz S (eds) Arid Ecosystems. Advances in GeoEcology 28. Catena Verlag, Cremlingen-Destedt, pp 173–192
Wootton JT, Sun IF (1990) Bract liquid as a herbivore defense mechanism for Heliconia wagneriana inflorescences. Biotropica 22:155–159
Acknowledgments
We wish to thank Jacob Ofer for his assistance with ant identification and Eyal Ben-hur and Yair Goldberg for statistical advice. We also thank Amots Dafni, Pat Willmer and Tamar Keasar for their thorough and helpful comments on the manuscript. A. Shmida thanks Professor N. Feinbrun who taught him to love Colchicum and Crocus.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Handling editor: Louis P. Ronse De Craene.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vasl, A., Shmida, A. The adaptive role of nectarial appendages in Colchicum . Plant Syst Evol 301, 1713–1723 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-014-1188-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-014-1188-4