Pollen limitation of fruit set in Western Australian terrestrial orchids

Elliott, C.P. and Ladd, P.G. (2002) Pollen limitation of fruit set in Western Australian terrestrial orchids. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 85 (4). pp. 165-168.

Abstract

Hand pollination was used to test whether fruiting success in six Western Australian terrestrial orchid species is limited by the availability of pollen. Open pollination controls all had a lower production of fruit than hand pollinated flowers. Species offering nectar had a higher open pollinated fruiting success (Lyperanthus serratus, Prasophyllum elatum and Prasophyllum fimbria) than those that did not (Caladenia flava and Diuris brumalis). One species (Pterostylis recurva) had almost equivalent fruit production for hand and open pollination, and may be resource limited as its habitat was the most heavily shaded. The results of this investigation confirm that similar processes seem to be operating in the environmentally similar, but widely separated, areas of the Cape of South Africa and the south-west of Western Australia.

Publication Type:	Journal Article
Murdoch Affiliation:	School of Environmental Science
Publisher:	Royal Society of Western Australia
Copyright:	© Royal Society of Western Australia
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/16730

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