Pollination biology of the crypto-viviparous <i>Avicennia</i> species (Avicenniaceae)

• Main Authors: A.J.S. Raju, P.V.S. Rao, R. Kumar, S.R. Mohan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wildlife Information Liaison Development Society 2012-12-01
• Series: Journal of Threatened Taxa
• Online Access: http://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/835

Floral biology, sexual system, breeding system, pollinators, fruiting and propagule dispersal ecology of crypto-viviparous Avicennia alba Bl., A. marina (Forsk.) Vierh. and A. officinalis L. (Avicenniaceae) were studied in Godavari mangrove forests of Andhra Pradesh State, India. All the three plant species initiate flowering following the first monsoon showers in June and cease flowering in late August. The flowers are hermaphroditic, nectariferous, protandrous, self-compatible and exhibit mixed breeding system. Self-pollination occurs even without pollen vector but fruit set in this mode is negligible. In all, the flowers are strictly entomophilous and the seedlings disperse through self-planting and stranding strategies.