Paggi et al. 2007 (Article) Vriesea

Fertility of Vriesea gigantea Gaud. (Bromeliaceae) in southern Brazil

Author(s):—G.M. Paggi, C. Palma S., L.C.T. Silveira, E. Kalchuk S., M.H. Bodanesee Z. & F. Bered

Publication:—American Journal of Botany 94(4): 683–689. (2007) — DOI

Abstract:—Plant fertility is a central subject of many questions in plant evolutionary and conservation biology. Pollen availability, abioticresources, and flowering pattern can limit fruit and seed production. Open pollination and pollen supplementation studies are used to estimate any pollen limitation in natural populations. To study the impact of these factors on the reproductive success of Vriesea gigantea, an epiphytic bromeliad in the Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil, its fertility in four natural populations in Itapua˜ StatePark was assessed by considering plant and inflorescence size, flower production, fruit and seed set, flower and fruit set pattern,and seed viability and germination rate. Supplemental pollination in adult plants was used to determine whether fruit production in V. gigantea is limited by reception of pollen. The results showed that V. gigantea has a high production of flowers, fruits, andseeds. Seeds are highly viable in all populations, presenting an average germination rate of 94% (SE 6 3.5). Plants of V. gigantea from Itapua˜ State Park are highly fertile. The high proportion of fruit and seed set after manual hand pollination indicates that thespecies is self-compatible. Pollination treatments showed evidence of pollinator limitation in the Itapua˜ State Park population

Keywords:—Bromeliaceae; flower production; fruit set; Itapua˜ State Park; pollen limitation; seed viability; self-compatibility