Abstract
We investigated how fruit types, or combinations of fruit types and life forms, affect species number in the large, mostly tropical plant family Rubiaceae. The aim was to test the hypothesis that animal dispersal promotes species diversification in plants. Information was compiled for 427 of the 630 genera in the family. Analyses were based on genera and on groups of taxa derived from a cladistic study of chloroplast DNA variation in the family. The results demonstrated that no single trait explains variation in species number. Instead, certain combinations of dispersal modes and life forms promote species richness. Genera consisting of (1) herbs with abiotic dispersal, (2) shrubs with animal dispersal, and (3) shrubs and trees with winged seeds were all characterized by comparatively large species numbers. These results imply an association between seed dispersibility and rate of species diversification.
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