Preliminary studies on ornithophilous floral visitors in the Australian endemic Passiflora herbertiana Ker Gawl. (Passifloraceae)

Authors

  • Shawn Elizabeth Krosnick Tennessee Tech University
  • Tim Schroeder Southern Arkansas University
  • Majesta Miles Southern Arkansas University
  • Samson King Wake Forest School of Medicine

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2015)9

Abstract

The pollination biology of the Australian endemic species Passiflora herbertiana (Passiflora subgenus Decaloba, supersection Disemma, section Disemma) was investigated in a single population growing in the Witches Falls section of Mount Tamborine National Park, Queensland. Three native honeyeaters were observed at the flowers, including Lewin’s Honeyeater (Meliphaga lewinii), the Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala), and the Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris). Visitation began at 07:30 and ended by 15:30 each day. The most frequent visitor was Lewin’s Honeyeater. Flowers typically began anthesis in the afternoon, with a small number of flowers opening in the early morning. Flowers remained open between four and five days, even after successful pollination. Both the age of the flower and the amount of sun exposure were determined to affect perianth colour change from pale yellow to salmon-pink. Andromonoecy was observed infrequently in the population; most plants exhibited bisexual flowers, but a small number of individuals exhibited both hermaphroditic and male flowers with short styles held permanently erect. Controlled hand pollinations indicated that P. herbertiana is self-compatible but is not autogamous. Pollen tubes required at least 48 hours to reach the most apical ovules within the ovary. These data provide new insights into the evolution of ornithophily in the Old World Passiflora.

 

Link to Appendix 1: Video showing Lewin’s Honeyeaters visiting various P. herbertiana flowers

Author Biographies

Shawn Elizabeth Krosnick, Tennessee Tech University

Assistant Professor of Biology

Dept. of Biology

Tim Schroeder, Southern Arkansas University

Associate Professor of Chemistry

Department of Chemistry and Physics

Majesta Miles, Southern Arkansas University

B.S. in Biology

Dept. of Biology

Samson King, Wake Forest School of Medicine

Masters student; B.S. in Biology

Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy

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Published

2015-05-21

How to Cite

Krosnick, S. E., Schroeder, T., Miles, M., & King, S. (2015). Preliminary studies on ornithophilous floral visitors in the Australian endemic Passiflora herbertiana Ker Gawl. (Passifloraceae). Journal of Pollination Ecology, 16, 58–63. https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2015)9

Issue

Section

Novel Ideas and Pilot Projects