Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T13:15:12.111Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Trap-flower fly pollination in East African Ceropegia L. (Apocynaceae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2007

P. Siro Masinde*
Affiliation:
East African Herbarium, National Museums of Kenya, PO Box 45166-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Get access

Abstract

Pollination in the genus Ceropegia L. (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae–Ceropegieae) in East Africa is discussed based on field observations and herbarium studies. All inferred or confirmed pollinators are small, mostly female dipteran flies, c. 2.5mm long, which carry pollinaria on their proboscis. Identified putative pollinator flies belong to families Milichiidae, Chloropidae and Ceratopogonidae. The most important factors for an insect to effect pollination appear to be the appropriate overall size, i.e. small size of c. 3×;3mm at most, and appropriate mouth parts, i.e. extendible probosces with suitable surfaces and adjacent pads on which a pollinarium can attach. The complex and diverse floral morphology of the tubular flowers and their disposition as well as other commonly occurring features namely, diverse interior and exterior coloration, diverse scents, secretions such as nectar and water droplets, vibratile corolla lobes and hairs, specialized hairs, interior sculpturing, sliding zones and differential lighting within the flower are important mechanisms for attracting and detaining insect pollinators.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © ICIPE 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Archer, P. G. (1992) Kenya Ceropegia Scrapbook. Artemis, Dover Australia. 183 pp.Google Scholar
Barad, G. S. (1990) Pollination of Stapeliads. Cact. Succ. J. 62, 130140.Google Scholar
Bayer, M. B. (1978a) Pollination and hybridisation in Stapeliads. Asclepiadaceae 14, 46.Google Scholar
Bayer, M. B. (1978b) Pollination in Asclepiads. Veld and Flora 64, 2123.Google Scholar
Bosma, W. (1994) The pollination of Stapeliads. Asklepios 63, 510.Google Scholar
Bruyns, P. V. (1985) Notes on Ceropegias of the Cape Province. Bradleya 3, 147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bullock, J. A. (1963) Miscellaneous observations upon insects associated with some East African Asclepiads. Kew Bull. 17, 7576.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chaturvedi, S. K. (1988) Abiotic pollination in Tylophora hirsuta Wight (Asclepiadaceae). Asklepios 45, 5862.Google Scholar
Chaturvedi, S. K. (1993) Significance of light windows in the pollination of some Indian Ceropegias (Asclepiadaceae). Cact. Succ. J. (US) 65, 148151.Google Scholar
Collenette, S. (1991) Ceropegias in Saudi Arabia. Kew Mag. 8, 2437.Google Scholar
Delpino, F. (1869) Ulteriori osservazioni sulla dicogamia nel regno vegetale. Atti. Soc. Ital. Sci. Nat. 12, 214218., 233Google Scholar
Desmet, P. G., Ellis, A. G. and Cowling, R. M. (1998) Speciation in the Mesembryanthemaceae. Aloe 35(2), 3843.Google Scholar
Eggli, U. (1994). Sukkulenten. Ulmer, Stuttgart. 336 pp.Google Scholar
Endress, P. K. (1994) Diversity and Evolutionary Biology of Tropical Flowers. Cambridge University Press Cambridge. xiv+511 pp.Google Scholar
Endress, M. E. and Bruyns, P.V. (2000) A revised classification of Apocynaceae s.l. Bot. Rev. 66, 156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Endress, M. E., Stevens, W. D. (2001) The renaissance of the Apocynaceae s.l.: Recent advances in systematics, phylogeny, and evolution: Introduction. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 88, 517522.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Faegri, K. & van der Pijl, L. (1979) Principles of Pollination Ecology. 3rd edn. xii+244 pp.Google Scholar
Fishbein, M. (2001) Evolutionary innovation and diversification in the flowers of Asclepiadaceae. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 88, 603623.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huber, H. (1958) Revision der Gattung Ceropegia. Mem. Soc. Brot. 12, 1203.Google Scholar
Kevan, P. G. (1978) Floral coloration, its colorimetric analysis and significance in anthecology, In The Pollination of Flowers by Insect Linn. Soc. Symp. Ser. pp. 5178, Richards, A. J.Academic Press,London and New York.Google Scholar
Kevan, P. G., Dafni, A. (1999) Floral displays, size, shape, and color perception by pollinators XVI International Botanical Congress—Abstracts: Addendum 7 St. Missouri Botanical Garden,Louis, USA.Google Scholar
Knuth, P. (1909) Handbook of Flower Pollination pp.644Clarendon Press Translated from the original in German by J. R. Ainsworth Davis,Oxford.Google Scholar
Kugler, H. (1966) UV-Male Blueten. Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Gesell. 79, 5770.Google Scholar
Kunze, H. (1994) Ontogeny of the translator in Asclepiadaceae. Pl. Syst. Evol. 193, 223242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malaisse, F., Schaijes, M. (1993) Notes on the Ceropegias of south east Zaire. Asklepios 58, 2130.Google Scholar
Masinde, P. S. (1998) Notes on Archer's (1992) Kenya Ceropegia Scrapbook. Haseltonia 6, 107114.Google Scholar
Masinde, P. S. (2000) Systematic studies in the genus Ceropegia L. (Asclepiadaceae-Stapelieae) in East Africa 314 Muenster, Germany Westfaelische Wilhelms-UniversitaetGoogle Scholar
McCann, C. (1943) ‘Light-Windows’ in certain flowers (Asclepiadaceae and Araceae). J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 44, 182184.Google Scholar
Meve, U. (2002) Ceropegia Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Asclepiadaceae pp.63107Albers, F., Meve, U. Berlin Springer Verlag.Google Scholar
Meve, U., Liede, S. (1994) Floral biology and pollination in Stapeliads: new results and a literature review. Pl. Syst. Evol. 192, 99116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mueller, L. (1926) Zur biologischen Anatomie der Blüte von Ceropegia woodii Schlechter. Biologia Generalis 2, 799814.Google Scholar
Ollerton, J. (1999) Fly trapping in Ceropegia flowers—Evidence of ant predation of pollinators. Asklepios 77, 3132.Google Scholar
Ollerton, J., Forster, P. (1995) Diptera associated with flowers of Ceropegia cumingiana in Australia. Asklepios 66, 2122.Google Scholar
Ollerton, J., Liede, S. (1997) Pollination systems in the Asclepiadaceae: a survey and preliminary analysis. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 62, 593610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Proctor, M., Yeo, P., Lack, A. (1996) The Natural History of Pollination 479 London Harper-Collins PublishersGoogle Scholar
Vogel, S. (1954) Blütenbiologische Typen als Elemente der Sippengliederung, dargestelt anhand der Flora Südafrikas Bot. Studien 1 338 Fischer, Jena.Google Scholar
Vogel, S. (1961) Die Bestäubung der Kesselfallenblüten von Ceropegia. Beitr. Biol. Pfl. 36, 159237.Google Scholar
Vogel, S. (2001) Flickering bodies: Floral attraction by movement. Beitr. Biol. Pfl. 72, 89154.Google Scholar
Yeo, P. F. (1972) Miscellaneous notes on pollination and pollinators. J. Nat. Hist. 6, 667686.CrossRefGoogle Scholar