Reproductive biology of Pentadesma butyracea (Clusiaceae), source of a valuable non timber forest product in Benin

Reproductive traits affect the rescue of valuable and endangered multipurpose tropical trees

“…These patterns resulted from the wetter conditions in Guineo-Congolian zone than in the Guineo-Sudanian one. This is congruent with the general assumption that the main determinants of phenology of tropical trees are temperature, insolation, rainfall and relative humidity ( Ewédjè et al 2015 ).…”

“…This low flowering overlap increases the attraction of pollinators, as floral rewards are offered during an extended period, and facilitates pollen exchange among flowers within a tree and among trees within a site. Thus with the observed efficient pollination rate, a low level of genetic differentiation could be expected within populations of this tree species ( Ewédjè et al 2015 ).…”

“…Soaked and not-soaked seeds displayed no significant differences under the incubation conditions of 30/25 °C and 35/30 °C, probably due to the relatively high water content of seeds freshly extracted from fruits. These incubation temperatures corresponded to the soil temperatures that the dispersed seeds might experience in their natural environment ( N’Danikou et al 2014 ; Ewédjè et al 2015 ).…”

“…The failure of pollination has diverse causes, including pollinator rarity or infidelity, poor quantity or quality of pollen deposited on the stigmas, delayed stigma receptivity and self-incompatibility ( Faegri and van der Pijl 1979 ). Other key factors of plant reproductive biology include floral phenology, the periodicity in the production of flowers, which follows a species-specific schedule, ranging from complete synchrony within the population to full asynchrony, thus shaping mating possibilities among individuals ( Ewédjè et al 2015 ). The breeding system also shapes exchanges among individuals, mainly by self-incompatibility ( Faegri and van der Pijl 1979 ; Kalinganire et al 2000 ).…”