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Duodichogamy and sex lability in Sapindaceae: the case of Paullinia weinmanniifolia

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Abstract

Paullinia weinmanniifolia (Sapindaceae) is an endemic Brazilian climber found in the Atlantic Forest. The flowers are arranged in synflorescences with approximately 34 thyrses. In the studied material, each thyrse produced 85.8 male flowers and 15.8 female flowers. The small, diclinous and zygomorphic flowers present a sophisticated morphology, described here in detail. They are visited by many insects, with bees being the main pollinators. Sex expression was investigated by monitoring one population of restinga in Maricá Environmental Protection Area, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, during 2–4 years. Experiments were conducted taking into account thyrse, synflorescence, plant and population. Most individuals showed a duodichogamic sequence of flowering (male–female–male). However, the population overall had a more complex flowering pattern: some individuals were protogynous, others protandrous; a few individuals produced flowers of only one sex, and some individuals changed sex expression in the second year of the study, either from male to female or from female to male. This was the first ever labile sex expression recorded for the tribe Paullinieae. Anthetic female and male flowers were never found simultaneously in the same thyrse or synflorescence. Nevertheless, the two flower morphs overlapped, though rarely, within the same individual. The pattern of flowering observed in this species maximizes the level of outcrossing, since the temporal separation of male and female flowers on the same plant is precise enough for the species to be regarded as (obligatorily) xenogamous.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the entomologists Dr. Antonio José Mayhé Nunes, from the Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), Dra. Cátia Mello Patiu, Dra. Márcia Souto Couri, and biologist Alexandre Soares, from Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), for identification of the insects, Mrs. Glória Gonçalves, for the illustrations, Dr. Ivo Abraão Araújo da Silva, for support on statistical aspects, and Dra. Cristine Rodrigues Benevides, for criticisms and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Botânica, Museu Nacional/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Quinta da Boa Vista, São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP: 20940-040, Brazil

    Heloisa A. de Lima

  2. Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Postal Code 74582, CEP: 23897-970, Brazil

    Genise V. Somner

  3. Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana (UEFS), Km 03, BR 116N-Campus Universitário, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil

    Ana M. Giulietti

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  1. Heloisa A. de Lima
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  2. Genise V. Somner
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  3. Ana M. Giulietti
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Correspondence to Genise V. Somner.

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de Lima, H.A., Somner, G.V. & Giulietti, A.M. Duodichogamy and sex lability in Sapindaceae: the case of Paullinia weinmanniifolia . Plant Syst Evol 302, 109–120 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-015-1247-5

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