Pollination biology and reproductive success in four Brazilian species of Gomesa (Orchidaceae: Oncidiinae): Specific pollinators, but high pollen loss and low fruit set

Abstract

AbstractFour species of Gomesa (Gomesa flexuosa, Gomesa ranifera, Gomesa cornigera, and Gomesa riograndensis), a horticulturally important, albeit scarcely studied orchid genus, were investigated. Pollination biology was studied through fieldwork in Rio Grande do Sul in Southern Brazil during two flowering seasons. Breeding systems were studied through controlled pollinations in cultivated plants. All studied species secrete floral oils through elaiophores and are exclusively pollinated by native, oil‐collecting bees of the Centridini or Tapinotaspidini tribes. Pollinarium reconfiguration after withdrawal, a feature likely promoting cross‐pollination, was recorded in G. cornigera and G. riograndensis. All studied species are pollinator‐dependent and either predominantly or fully self‐incompatible, that is, unable to set fruit following self‐pollination. The used indexes of pollination efficiency consistently scored values below 1, indicating that in all studied species less than one flower is pollinated per pollinarium removed. Accordingly, pollen loss was high, ranging from 40% to 75%. Furthermore, inflorescences in natural populations displayed low fruit sets (below 13%). Gomesa flexuosa presented the highest values of pollinarium removal (36.24%) and deposition (15.34%). Significantly, this is the only studied species bearing a tabula infraestigmatica, a column swelling that bees hold to stabilize themselves while gathering the floral oils. Since pollinators were observed in all studied species spending considerable time (up to 3 min 46 s) and visiting several (up to 19) flowers, we propose that the observed low fruit set is the result of a combination of self‐incompatibility, pollinator‐mediated self‐pollination, and pollen loss.