Abstract
The 426 species of the genus Erica L. in the south-western Cape are categorized according to their principal putative pollinating agents, based on the shape of the flowers and field observations. Wind pollination is restricted to 21 species in the genus Erica ; most of the more specialized wind-pollinated species in the subfamily Ericoideae being assigned to the closely related genus Philippia Klotzsch and other genera of the tribe Salaxideae. Sixty-six Erica species are bird-pollinated and display two main flower shapes: tubular and tubular-curved; the former being divided into brush and tube flowers based on anther morphology. The majority (80%) of Erica species are insect-pollinated, and several subcategories can be assigned. The most distinctive subcategory is that of rhinomyiophily (pollination by dipterans with long proboscises) which accounts for 9% of all insect-pollinated Erica species. The richness of insect-pollinated Erica species parallels a richness of insect species, among which anthophilous dipterans and hymenopterans feature prominently. S. Afr. J. Bot. 1985, 51: 270–280
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