Abstract
THE role of androdioecy (the presence of male and hermaphrodite individuals in a breeding population) in the evolution of dioecy has long been the subject of much interest and discussion1–9. But no functionally androdioecious species has been previously documented2 and recent studies have even raised doubt about whether the phenomenon exists at all3. Although many cases of androdioecy have been reported, most of these are based on morphological data alone and, when examined in detail, are actually found to be functionally dioecious10–12. Here we describe functional androdioecy in the flowering plant Datisca glomerata (Presl.) Baill. (Datiscaceae). We suggest that the condition evolved from a dioecious precursor, and not from hermaphroditism as is commonly postulated for the evolution of androdioecy1–9. Androdioecy in this case could be a transitional state in the breakdown of a dioecious breeding system towards hermaphroditism.
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Liston, A., Rieseberg, L. & Elias, T. Functional androdioecy in the flowering plant Datisca glomerata. Nature 343, 641–642 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/343641a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/343641a0
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