A Preliminary Study of the Pollination Ecology of Pedicularis in the Chinese Himalaya(Reproductive Biology)

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The pollination ecology of fourteen species of Pedicularis (Scrophulariaceae) was studied in the subalpinealpine zone of the Sichuan Himalaya. Bumblebees (Bombus Latr.) sternotribically pollinated rostrate, nectarless species with very long corolla tubes by scraping pollen. Pollinators on short-tubed, nectarless, rostrate species scraped or vibrated pollen, and nectariferous species were pollinated nototribically by nectar foragers or sternotribically by pollen foragers. Stigmas contacted residual pollen in the midline of the insect body. No evidence of lepidopteran pollination was found in any Pedicularis species. Pedicularis floral structure and function are considered to have coevolved with foraging selection by bumblebees, but pollination syndromes are not specific for a single bumblebee species nor are Bombus foragers restricted to a single plant species. Analysis of corbicular pollen loads of foragers on Pedicularis revealed a moderate degree of flower constancy, especially among foragers on nectarless flowers, probably contributing to speciation in the genus. Up to nine Pedicularis species flowered sympatrically and synchronously, and some species exhibited microhabitat selection. No putative hybrids were identified. Concepts of floral evoution in Pedicularis are in need of revision in light of new evidence presented here.
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