Explosive flowering, nectar production, breeding systems, and pollinators of New Zealand mistletoes (Loranthaceae)

Abstract

The six New Zealand loranthaceous mistletoes fall into two groups based on pollination biology. Four (Alepis flavida, Peraxilla colensoi, P. tetrapetala, and Trilepidea adamsii) are bird pollinated with hermaphrodite flowers while the other two (lleostylus micranthus and Tupeia antarctica) are dioecious or sub-dioecious and insect pollinated. We provide data on the pollination biology of the five extant species (Trilepidea is extinct). The two Peraxilla species and Trilepidea have recently been shown to have explosive flowers. Here we show that Alepis has weakly facultatively explosive flowers. The world distribution of explosive mistletoe flowers suggests that the syndrome has arisen a number of times independently within the family, and is found in about half the putatively ancestral genera. The principal avian visitors to the bird-pollinated species were tui and bellbirds; introduced species are numerically unimportant as pollinators. The nectar production schedules of Alepis and Peraxilla encourage single-visit pollination as little nectar is produced after the flowers open. However, when bird densities are high, buds of Peraxilla may be forced open prematurely, encouraging multiple visits.

Inflorescence and floral traits of the Colombian species of <em>Tristerix (Loranthaceae)</em> related to hummingbird pollination

“…(Evans 1895;Feehan 1985;Aluri & Subba Redi 1995), and the Bornean Amylotheca duthieana (King) Danser (Yumoto & al. 1997 In all of these species the fenestrae are caused by the staminal tension against the tip of the corolla tube (Werth 1915;Feehan 1985;Aluri & Subba Redi 1995;Ladley & al. 1997;Yumoto & al.…”

“…However, most of the studies on inflorescence and flower morphoanatomy and reproductive biology have been carried out in Old World members of the family (v.gr., Blakely 1922;Maheshwari & al. 1957;Bhatnagar & Johri 1983;Feehan 1985;Ladley & al. 1997).…”

Polinización y producción de néctar de Psittacanthus schiedeanus (Loranthaceae) en el centro de Veracruz, México

“…Therefore, this plant requires the service of its hummingbird pollinators to achieve full reproductive success. Although spatial separation of androecium and gynoecium is characteristic of many bird-pollinated members of Loranthaceae (e.g., Ladley et al, 1997), there is no particular mechanism promoting autonomous self-pollination that we have detected in P. schiedeanus. The fi tness consequences of selffertilization are largely determined by how self-pollination occurs in P. schiedeanus.…”

“…Approximately 90 bird species from 10 families are considered mistletoe fruit specialists, exhibiting a range of behavioral and morphological adaptations to their narrow diet (Mathiasen et al, 2008 and references therein). Elaborate pollination mechanisms involving birds have also evolved in some of Loranthaceae species (e.g., Ladley and Kelly, 1995;Ladley et al, 1997). Many tropical and subtropical mistletoes in Loranthaceae have large, colorful fl owers borne in groups that produce large amounts of sugar-rich nectar that attract avian pollinators.…”

Do bird species richness and community structure vary with mistletoe flowering and fruiting in Western Australia?

“…Loranthaceous mistletoes provide birds with important nectar and fruit resources (Kuijt 1969;Calder 1983;Davidar 1985;Reid 1986;Ladley et al 1997;Robertson et al 1999), with at least 50 bird species, including several species of honeyeater, recorded consuming mistletoe nectar or fruit in Australia (Keast 1958;Reid 1987;Turner 1991;Brown et al 1997). With two exceptions, the root-parasitic Western Australian Christmas Tree (Nuytsia floribunda) and Atkinsonia (Atkinsonia ligustrina) (Hawkeswood 1981;Watson 2011), all Australian loranthaceous mistletoes are pollinated by birds.…”