Pollen Viability and Autogamy Fitness in Bauhinia forficata Link (Fabaceae)

Abstract

Bauhinia forficata (Fabaceae) occurs in many phytophysiognomies of southern Brazil, however its ecological relevance is not well understood. The present study was developed in the Central Depression of Rio Grande do Sul and aimed to determine variations in pollen viability along flowering, ability to perform autogamy and dye efficiency for the viability test. Pollen viability was determined by colorimetry as well as the ability to perform autogamy by isolating floral buds, being evaluated in eleven matrices. Average pollen viability was 81.43%, with the highest average value obtained with the dye 2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium Chloride (TTC) (84.11%). Safranin was not a good indicator at the tested concentration. No correlation was found between pollen viability and flowering time. The species demonstrated an inability to perform autogamy.

Pollen Viability of Fraxinus excelsior in Storage Experiments and Investigations on the Potential Effect of Long-Range Transport

“…Besides the assessment of pollen germination, viability can also be studied via pollen staining tests [25,26]. The TTC test is a commonly used agent and proved successful determination of pollen viability for many species [27][28][29][30][31], although not all pollen species yielded successful staining [32,33]. For pollen of Fraxinus excelsior, this test was successfully applied by Castiñeiras et al [34].…”