Species of Apocynaceae are pollinated by a diverse assemblage of animals. Here we report the first record of specialized cockroach pollination in the family, involving an endangered climbing vine species, Vincetoxicum hainanense in China. Experiments were designed to provide direct proof of cockroach pollination and compare the effectiveness of other flower visitors. METHODS: We investigated the reproductive biology, pollination ecology, pollinaria removal, pollinia insertion, and fruit set following single visits by the most common insects. In addition, we reviewed reports of cockroaches as pollinators of other plants and analyzed the known pollination systems in Vincetoxicum in a phylogenetic context. RESULTS: The small, pale green flowers of V. hainanense opened during the night. The flowers were not autogamous, but were self-compatible. Flower visitors included beetles, flies, ants and bush crickets, but the most effective pollinator was the cockroach Blattella bisignata, the only visitor that carried pollen between plants. Less frequent and effective pollinators are ants and Carabidae. Plants in this genus are predominantly pollinated by flies, moths and wasps. CONCLUSIONS: Globally, only 11 plant species are known to be cockroach-pollinated. Because their range of floral features encompass similarities and differences, defining a "cockroach pollination syndrome" is difficult. One commonality is that flowers are often visited by insects other than cockroaches, such as beetles, that vary in their significance as pollinators. Cockroach pollination is undoubtedly more widespread than previously thought and requires further attention.
Historical climate oscillations and tectonic events have influenced the speciation and evolutionary history of many organisms. In this study, we chose Fokienia hodginsii (Dunn) A. Henry & H. H. Thomas (Cupressaceae s.l.), a Tertiary relict conifer, for the inference of the demographic history since the Neogene. Five chloroplast regions and two single‐copy nuclear genes were amplified and sequenced in 497 individuals from 28 populations. The chloroplast data showed that F. hodginsii presented a high level of genetic diversity (H
T
= 0.860 ± 0.0279) and significant phylogeographic structure (N
ST
> G
ST
, P < 0.05). According tobeast analysis, the divergence time of the two major lineages indicated by the phylogenetic construction produced from chloroplast and nuclear data could be dated to the early Miocene (ca. 19.34–19.95 Ma), which coincided with the onset and intensification of the Asian monsoon. During this time, environmental adaption under the different climatic conditions on either side of the Tanaka Line could have played important roles in maintaining and/or reinforcing the divergence of the two major lineages. The ecological niche modeling results showed that F. hodginsii experienced habitat fragmentation and strengthening of genetic barriers during the Last Glacial Maximum, followed by local expansion during postglacial periods. Our findings show that paleoclimate changes since the Neogene might have triggered the extinction of all but one Fokienia species and its intraspecific lineage differentiation. This study also suggests that Tertiary relicts in subtropical and tropical areas might have had a complex evolutionary history and their intraspecific differentiation time might have been earlier than expected.
Eriobotrya laoshanica, a new species of Rosaceae from Yunnan, China, is described and illustrated. The new species is easily distinguished from the most similar species E. malipoensis K. C. Kuan by its longer petioles (2–5 vs. 0.5–1 cm); indumentum on the lower leaf surfaces (densely tomentose vs. glabrous); much fewer flowers (15- to 30-flowered vs. 50- to 100-flowered) on the panicle; larger flowers (2.5–3 vs. 1.5–2 cm in diameter); and non-angulated (vs. angulated) young fruits.
Saxifraga
damingshanensis (Saxifragaceae), a new species from Damingshan Nature Reserve in Guangxi Province, is described and illustrated. A morphological comparison between the new species and its putative relatives, S.
mengtzeana and S.
luoxiaoensis, is presented. The new species is morphologically similar to S.
mengtzeana, but it can be easily distinguished by its non-peltate leaf, both surfaces of mature leaf blade covered with white glandular trichome, petals 3-veined and margin entire. Phylogenetic analysis, based on two chloroplast DNA regions (matK and psbA-trnH), confirmed that the new species belongs to S.
sect.
Irregulares. The new species is currently only known from Damingshan, Guangxi and we assign it an IUCN Red List preliminary status as Data Deficient.
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