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Androdioecy in the entomophilous tree Fraxinus ornus (Oleaceae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 1999

BERTRAND DOMMÉE
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Morphogenèse végétale et Biodiversité, service 442, Institut Méditerranéen d'Écologie et de Paléoécologie, C.N.R.S. – UPRES A 6116, Université d'Aix-Marseille III, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques St-Jérôme, avenue Escadrille Normandie-Niemen, F-13397 Marseille Cedex 20, France
ALAIN GESLOT
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Morphogenèse végétale et Biodiversité, service 442, Institut Méditerranéen d'Écologie et de Paléoécologie, C.N.R.S. – UPRES A 6116, Université d'Aix-Marseille III, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques St-Jérôme, avenue Escadrille Normandie-Niemen, F-13397 Marseille Cedex 20, France
JOHN D. THOMPSON
Affiliation:
Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, C.N.R.S., 1919 Route de Mende, F-34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
MAURICE REILLE
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Botanique Historique et Palynologie, service 451, Institut Méditerranéen d'Écologie et de Paléoécologie, C.N.R.S. – UPRES A 6116, Université d'Aix-Marseille III, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques St-Jérôme, avenue Escadrille Normandie-Niemen, F-13397 Marseille Cedex 20, France
NICOLE DENELLE
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Morphogenèse végétale et Biodiversité, service 442, Institut Méditerranéen d'Écologie et de Paléoécologie, C.N.R.S. – UPRES A 6116, Université d'Aix-Marseille III, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques St-Jérôme, avenue Escadrille Normandie-Niemen, F-13397 Marseille Cedex 20, France
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Abstract

Androdioecy (the coexistence of two genders, cosexuals and males, in a single population) is a rare breeding system. In terms of functional gamete production, androdioecy has been reported in a small number of wind-pollinated and insect-pollinated species. In this study we examine the floral biology, stability of gender, and fruit and seed production after self-pollination and outcrossing pollination in a potentially androdioecious tree, Fraxinus ornus, in southern France. Individual trees have either hermaphrodite flowers or male flowers, the latter lacking a well-developed gynoecium. The two genders produce morphologically similar pollen and were present in 1[ratio ]1 or slightly male-biased ratios. Only hermaphrodites set fruit during 2–4 yr of observation at four different sites in southern France. Experimental pollinations of eight trees in two different sites showed that hermaphrodites produce viable pollen in dehiscent anthers and viable seeds. Thus, in terms of functional gamete production, F. ornus is a new case of functional androdioecy. Seven hermaphrodites were self-compatible, and such self-compatibility of hermaphrodites might improve the colonizing ability of F. ornus in a region where this species is actively expanding its range.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Trustees of the New Phytologist 1999

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