Abstract
In flowering plants, inflorescence characteristics influence both seed set and pollen contribution, while inflorescence and peduncle size can be correlated with biomass allocation to reproductive organs. Peduncles also play a role in water and nutrient supply of flowers, and mechanical support. However, it is currently unclear whether inflorescence size is correlated with peduncle size. Here, we tested whether orchids with large diameter peduncles bear more and larger flowers than those with smaller peduncles by analyzing 10 traits of inflorescence, flower, and leaf in 26 species. Peduncle diameters were positively correlated with inflorescence length and total floral area, indicating that species with larger peduncles tended to have larger inflorescences and larger flowers. We also found strongly positive correlation between inflorescence length and leaf area, and between total floral area and total leaf area, which suggested that reproductive organs may be allometrically coordinated with vegetative organs. However, neither flower number nor floral dry mass per unit area were correlated with leaf number or leaf dry mass per unit area, implying that the function between leaf and flower was uncoupled. Our findings provided a new insight for understanding the evolution of orchids, and for horticulturalists interested in improving floral and inflorescence traits in orchids.
Highlights
Floral display, which includes floral number, size, color, and arrangement, has a central influence on plant reproductive success (Harder and Johnson, 2005; Iwata et al, 2012)
We found that epiphytic species have lower flower area, while having a higher flower number than those of terrestrial species
We found that inflorescence length was correlated with peduncle diameter and total floral area (Figure 3), but not with individual floral area or flower number
Summary
Floral display, which includes floral number, size, color, and arrangement, has a central influence on plant reproductive success (Harder and Johnson, 2005; Iwata et al, 2012). Plants with larger inflorescences and flowers receive generally more pollinator visits and increased reproductive success (Pleasants and Zimmerman, 1990; Harder and Johnson, 2005). Various studies have shown that leaf and stem allometry are positively correlated (Preston and Ackerly, 2003; Westoby and Wright, 2003; Sun et al, 2006; Normand et al, 2008; Yang et al, 2010; Fan et al, 2017)
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