Abstract
Ophiorrhiza caudata is a creeping, perennial herb distributed along wet and shady areas. The species is distylous with two distinct floral morphs: pin and thrum. Flowering usually occurs during the monsoon season. No particular difference was noticed in the flowering phenology of the two morphs. Presently the species is self-incompatible, however, it shows a tendency towards intramorph compatibility. Fruit set is above 60% in open pollination and intermorph pollination. Bees and butterflies are the major pollinators. The pollen flow between the two floral morphs varies depending upon floral morphology and pollinators. Fruit is a bi-valved capsule which dehisces by a splashing drop mechanism. The seeds are very minute. The rate of seed germination and seedling establishment in the wild condition is very poor due to adverse climatic factors. Ophiorrhiza caudata is struggling for survival in its natural habitat, where habitat fragmentation, climatic factors and poor seedling establishment could account for its narrow distribution.
Highlights
The genus Ophiorrhiza L. (Rubiaceae) is believed to be Indo-Malaysian in origin (Mabberly 2008), and different species are scattered throughout tropicalsubtropical Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and the Pacific islands
The roots of these herbaceous plants were used against snake venom from ancient times, and various plant parts are characterised by the presence of the alkaloid camptothecin and its derivatives (Yamazaki et al 2003)
The percentage of fruit set after intramorph pollination in pin and thrum morphs are 6.67% and 3.33%, respectively. These results indicated that O. caudata has a tendency towards intramorph compatibility
Summary
The genus Ophiorrhiza L. (Rubiaceae) is believed to be Indo-Malaysian in origin (Mabberly 2008), and different species are scattered throughout tropicalsubtropical Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and the Pacific islands. (Rubiaceae) is believed to be Indo-Malaysian in origin (Mabberly 2008), and different species are scattered throughout tropicalsubtropical Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and the Pacific islands. The roots of these herbaceous plants were used against snake venom from ancient times, and various plant parts are characterised by the presence of the alkaloid camptothecin and its derivatives (Yamazaki et al 2003). The species was considered extinct (Deb & Mondal 1997), and IUCN (1997) included it under the extinct category It was rediscovered in 2009 (Joseph & Joseph 2009), 70 years after its last report. The present investigation was carried out during 2013–2016 to examine the flowering phenology, floral biology, breeding system, pollination and seed biology of O. caudata
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