Polinizadores del género Aristolochia (Aristolochiaceae)

CECILIA TRUJILLO,; SÉRSIC, ALICIA N.

San Luis

Congreso; XXIX Jornadas Argentinas de Botánica y XV Reunión anual de la Sociedad Botánica de Chile; 2003

AbstractThe floral biology of Aristolochia argentina (Aristolochiaceae) was studied in natural populations in Cordoba,Argentina. This native vine has flowers that attract mainly scuttle fly pollinators of the genus Megaselia (Phoridae).The trap-like perianth is formed by a limb, a tube, and a basal utricle. The limb produces an odor that recalls decayingplant tissues, which apparently mimics the natural oviposition substrate of the flies. The insects stay entrapped insidethe utricle for approximately 24 h, making contact with the sexual organs of the flower. When released, they canbecome captured again in other flowers. The mechanisms of herkogamy and protogyny are efficient. Although self-compatibility exists, as demonstrated by the high percentage of fruits produced by geitonogamy, fruits were notproduced under natural or artificial autogamous conditions. Natural pollination showed significantly lower fruit setthan xenogamous and geitonogamous crosses.r 2006 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.