Skip to main content
Log in

Patterns of fruit and seed production inBauhinia ungulata (Leguminosae)

  • Published:
Plant Systematics and Evolution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Patterns of seed and fruit production ofBauhinia ungulata, a small tree legume indigenous in tropical America, were studied in Costa Rica. Only about 8% of flowers produced fruits. The average pod had 19 ovules and about two thirds of these began seed development, with mature pods containing an average of 9.7 mature undamaged seeds. About half of the mature pods were damaged by herbivores and within these, 27% of ovules or seeds had been eaten. Among trees there was no significant variation in pod production, but the number of ovules per pod and seed production per pod varied significantly. Within infructescences most pods were retained at middle positions. Within pods, the probability of an ovule developing into a seed increased toward the distal end. The pattern of seed and fruit production in this species agrees well in general with that reported for other neotropical legumes. The abortion of seeds and fruits can be regarded as a way of controlling maternal investment, and as a response to herbivory.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aker, C. L., 1982: Regulation of flower, fruit and seed production by a monocarpic perennial,Yucca whipplei. — J. Ecol.70, 357–372.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bawa, K. S., 1974: Breeding systems of tree species of a lowland tropical community. — Evolution28, 85–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ——, 1984: Flower, fruit and seed abortion in tropical forest trees: implications for the evolution of paternal and maternal reproductive patterns. — Amer. J. Bot.71, 736–751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertin, R. I., 1982: Paternity and fruit production in trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans). — Amer. Naturalist119, 694–709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, D. C., Brink, R. A., Albrecht, H. R., 1937: Embryo mortality in relation to seed formation in alfalfa (Medicago sativa). — Amer. J. Bot.24, 203–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daubenmire, R., 1972: Phenology and other characteristics of tropical semideciduous forests in northwestern Costa Rica. — J. Ecol.60, 147–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, P., Pate, J. S., 1981: Fruit set inLupinus angustifolius cv.Unicrop. I. Phenology and growth during flowering and early fruiting. — Austral. J. Pl. Physiol.8, 293–305.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Frankie, G. W., Baker, H. G., Opler, P. A., 1974: Comparative phenological studies of trees in tropical wet and dry forests in the lowlands of Costa Rica. — J. Ecol.62, 881–919.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, L. E., 1975: Ecological consequences of a coevolved mutualism between butterflies and plants. — InGilbert, L. E., Raven, P. H., (Eds.): Coevolution of Animals and Plants, 210–240. — Austin: University of Texas Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Godley, E. J., 1979: Flower biology in New Zealand. — New Zealand J. Bot.17, 441–466.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heithaus, E. R., Fleming, T. H., Opler, P. A., 1975: Foraging patterns and resource utilization in seven species of bats in a seasonal tropical forest. — Ecology56, 841–854.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ——, 1982: Cumulative effects of plant-animal interactions on seed production byBauhinia ungulata, a neotropical legume. — Ecology63, 1294–1302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holdridge, L. R., Grenke, W. G., Hatheway, W. C., Liang, T., Tosi, J. A., Jr., 1971: Forests Environments in Tropical Life Zones. — New York: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horovitz, A., Meiri, L., Beiles, A., 1976: Effects of ovule positions in fabaceous flowers on seed set and outcrossing rates. — Bot. Gaz.137, 250–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janzen, D. H., 1977: Developmental demography ofBauhinia pauletia Pers. (Leguminosae) seeds and ovules. — Brenesia12/13, 105–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Janzen, D. H., Liesner, R., 1980: Annotated check-list of plants of lowland Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica, exclusive of grasses and non-vascular cryptogams. — Brenesia18, 15–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, T. D., Bazzaz, F. A., 1982a: Regulation of fruit and seed production in an annual legume,Cassia fasciculata. — Ecology63, 1363–1373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • —— 1982b: Regulation of fruit maturation pattern in an annual legume,Cassia fasciculata. — Ecology63, 1374–1388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd, D. G., 1979: Parental strategies of angiosperms. — New Zealand J. Bot.17, 595–606.

    Google Scholar 

  • —— 1980: Sexual strategies in plants I. An hypothesis of serial adjustment of maternal investment during one reproductive session. — New Phytol.86, 69–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ——, 1980: Sexual strategies in plants II. Data on the temporal regulation of maternal investment. — New Phytol.86, 81–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulcahy, D. L., 1979: The rise of the angiosperms: a genecological factor. — Science206, 20–23.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pate, J. S., Farrington, P., 1981: Fruit set inLupinus angustifolius cv.Unicrop. II. Assimilate flow during flowering and early fruiting. — Austral. J. Pl. Physiol.8, 307–318.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter, N. G., 1982: Interaction between lateral branch growth and pod set in primary inflorescences of Lupin. — Austral. J. Agric. Res.33, 957–965.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramirez, N., Sobrevila, C., de Enrech, N. D., Ruiz-Zapata, T., 1984: Floral biology and breeding system ofBauhinia benthamiana Taub. (Leguminosae), a bat-pollinated tree in Venezuelan “Llanos”. — Amer. J. Bot.71, 273–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stephenson, A. G., 1980: Fruit set, herbivory, fruit reduction, and the fruiting strategy ofCatalpa speciosa (Bignoniaceae). — Ecology61, 57–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • —— 1982: When does outcrossing occur in a mass-flowering plant? — Evolution36, 762–767.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ——, 1983: Male competition, female choice, and sexual selection in plants. — InReal, L., (Ed.): Pollination Biology, 109–149. — New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swaminathan, M. S., 1975: Basic research needed for further improvement of pulse crops in southeast Asia. — InMilner, M., (Ed.): Nutritional Improvement of Food Legumes by Breeding, 61–68. — New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tosi, J. A., Jr., 1969: Mapa Ecologia de Costa Rica. — San Jose, Costa Rica: Tropical Science Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Udovic, D., Aker, C. L., 1981: Fruit abortion and the regulation of fruit number inYucca whipplei. — Oecologia49, 245–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webb, C. J., 1984: Pollination specialization and protogyny inMyrrhidendron donnellsmithii (Umbelliferae). — Syst. Bot.9, 240–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willson, M. F., Burley, N., 1983: Mate Choice in Plants. — Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woodson, R. E., Jr., Schery, R. W., 1951: Flora of Panama, Part V, Fascicle 3,Leguminosae, second part. — Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard.38, 301–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wunderlin, R. P., 1983: Revision of the arborescentBauhinias (Fabaceae: Caesalpinioideae: Cercideae) native to Middle America. — Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard.70, 95–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Webb, C.J., Bawa, K.S. Patterns of fruit and seed production inBauhinia ungulata (Leguminosae). Pl Syst Evol 151, 55–65 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02418019

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02418019

Key Words

Navigation