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Gall midge pollination and ant-mediated fruit dispersal of Pinellia tripartita (Araceae)

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Abstract

The family Araceae consists of approximately 3,600 species that are characterized by cross-pollination using colorful pseudanthium and/or odor emission and endozoochory using glossy fruits. In contrast, a small deciduous aroid Pinellia tripartita possesses pale-green inflorescence without distinct smell and inconspicuous whitish-green fruits, suggesting that this species has a specialized reproductive system. However, no study has examined its reproductive biology in the field. To identify effective pollinators, we collected floral visitors from the introduced and five natural populations in the central and western Japan. We evaluated the selfing ability based on bagging experiments and the P/O ratio. Since myrmecochory was reported in some aroids with whitish fruits, we examined the ant-mediated removal of diaspores of P. tripartita, and two common herbs at the study site, Viola mandshurica (a myrmecochorious herb), and Oxalis dillenii. In all populations, gall midges were the dominant floral visitor, and pollen adhered to them. The fruit set rate significantly decreased in bagged inflorescences. The P/O ratio was intermediate between selfing and outcrossing plants. Ant-mediated diaspore removal was more frequent in P. tripartita than in the other two herbs. The decreased fruit set rate in bagging experiments and the intermediate P/O ratio suggested that P. tripartita conducts both cross- and self-pollination. Based on the floral visitor assemblage and ant-mediated fruit removal, P. tripartita appeared to employ tiny insects (gall midges and ants) for pollination and seed dispersal. Considering the similarity of reproductive traits, this tiny insects-mediated reproductive system may be common in the genus Pinellia.

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The detailed information about study sites is provided in Table S1.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Shoko Taniguchi and the staff of the Botanical Garden attached to the Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University for allowing us to study the introduced plants in their care; Chika Ōe and Shuken Ōe for granting field work permission; Iori Ito and Yoshiki Matsuoka for help with sample collection in a natural P. tripartita population; Takafumi Shida for providing information about the reproductive biology of P. ternata; Dr. Fujio Hyodo, Dr. Koki R. Katsuhara, Dr. Naoko H. Miki, Dr. Keiji Sakamoto, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University, Tsushima-Naka 1-1-1, Kita-Ku, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan

    Tetsuya K. Matsumoto, Motoya Onoue, Muneto Hirobe & Yuko Miyazaki

  2. Faculty of Education, Gifu University, Yanagito 1-1, Gifu, 501-1193, Japan

    Takashi Miyake

  3. Ehime Botanical Club, Ojoin 2133-2, Niihama, 792-0060, Japan

    Kentaro Ohnishi

  4. Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, Kurokami 2-39-1, Chuo-Ku, Kumamoto, 860-0862, Japan

    Kiyoto Takazoe

  5. Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Nihonmatsu-Cho, Sakyo-Ku, 606-8501, Kyoto, Japan

    Kiyoto Takazoe

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  1. Tetsuya K. Matsumoto
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  2. Motoya Onoue
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Contributions

TKM and MO: Study concept and design, field survey, insect identification, data analysis, and manuscript drafting. TM, KO, and KT: Sample collection in natural populations and manuscript drafting. MH and YM: Study concept and design, and manuscript drafting.

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Correspondence to Tetsuya K. Matsumoto.

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Matsumoto, T.K., Onoue, M., Miyake, T. et al. Gall midge pollination and ant-mediated fruit dispersal of Pinellia tripartita (Araceae). Plant Ecol 224, 59–72 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-022-01278-x

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