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Transitions Between Combined and Separate Sexes in Flowering Plants

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Transitions Between Sexual Systems

Abstract

Most flowering plants have combined sexes and are functionally hermaphroditic. However, dioecy has evolved frequently and occurs in about half of flowering plant families. In this chapter, I consider reasons for the high frequency of hermaphroditism in flowering plants, drawing particularly on economic arguments that relate investment toward male and female function to the fitness gained through each function, separately or together. I then summarize two leading hypotheses for the evolution of dioecy from hermaphroditism: the potential advantages of sexual specialization and to the role that separation of the sexes may play in avoiding inbreeding. Finally, I review the major evolutionary paths that have likely been followed in transitions from hermaphroditism to dioecy and back again.

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Acknowledgments

I thank R. Torices for helpful discussions and R. Torices, A. Case, and an anonymous referee for comments on the manuscript. The work was supported by grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation and the University of Lausanne.

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  1. Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    John R. Pannell

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  1. Joseph M. Long Marine Laboratory, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA

    Janet L. Leonard

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Pannell, J.R. (2018). Transitions Between Combined and Separate Sexes in Flowering Plants. In: Leonard, J. (eds) Transitions Between Sexual Systems. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94139-4_3

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