First confirmation of a native bird‐pollinated plant in Europe

Abstract

The pollination of Anagyris foetida L. (Fabaceae), a Mediterranean species that is a relict of the Tertiary, was studied in two populations of SW Spain over a three‐year period. Numerous censuses of birds and insects were carried out, the floral nectar was quantified, and specific tests were performed to determine the pollinators' pollen load, the pollen's effective transfer to the pistil, and spontaneous self‐pollination. The most important pollinators were three species of passeriforms –Phylloscopus collybita Vieillot, Sylvia atricapilla L. and S. melanocephala Gmelin– a result coherent with findings in populations of S and E Spain. The negligible existence of insect visitors and pollinators of A. foetida flowers could be explained by the early flowering of this species during the autumn–winter, coinciding with the coolest and wettest months of the year (cold, high winds, almost daily mists that persist until nightfall, and above all, abundant rainfall). The pollen loads carried by the birds were high, as were also the loads transferred to the pistil. The fruit‐set of bagged flowers was very low, evidence of the plant's need for the birds as pollinators. This is the first proof of the existence of a native European bird‐pollinated plant, since besides its peculaliarities (flowers odourless, pseudotubular, with no landing platform, pendulous, diurnal populations were mainly pollinated by three passeriform species.