Dioecy and wind pollination in Pernettya rigida (Ericaceae) of the Juan Fernández Islands

Pernetttya rigida is endemic to the Juan Fernández archipelago. Although all flowers are complete, with seemingly fertile stamens and pistils, differences in fruit production and detailed field, anatomical, and morphological studies indicate they are functionally unisexual, and the species is consequently dioecious. A comparison of 15 features demonstrated sigdicant differences between the sexes. The populational sex ratio is 1:1. Nectaries located between the filaments produce small amounts of floral nectar with similar sugar composition in both sexes. There are =33,357 (or = 133,429) pollen tetrads (or pollen grains)/male flower and =109 ovules/female flower. No tetrads in either hand self-pollinated or open pollinated male flowers showed any pollen germination. Tetrads on open- and hand-pollinated female flowers germinate. Female flowers do not show autogamy or apomixis. During more than 80 hours of field observation, we recorded only seven floral visitors (representing three insect species). In spite of this, openpollinated female flowers have abundant fruit and seed-set. Thus, we conclude that pollen is transferred abiotically and the ever-present wind over the exposed ridges of the islands is the likely dispersal agent. A number of anemophilous features, such as dry pollen and exposed habitat, support this conclusion. Thus, dioecy and anemophily have evolved independently, in situ , in this species in this remote locality. Preservation of habitat and elimination of competitive invasives are the primary conservation challenges.     

Gender variation in Actinidia deliciosa,the kiwifruit

Summary Flower and fruit characters were measured in ten female, five male and five fruiting male selections of A. deliciosa var deliciosa (A. Chev) Liang and Ferguson. Flowers from female vines had functional pistils, which contained many ovules. Stamens appeared to be fully developed but produced only empty pollen grains. Flowers from male vines had functional stamens that produced high percentages of pollen grains with stainable cytoplasmic contents. Pistils did not contain ovules and were generally small with vestigial styles. Fruiting male vines had both staminate and bisexual flowers. Staminate flowers were similar to those found on strictly male vines. Bisexual flowers produced ovules and stainable pollen. Pistils were smaller than in pistillate flowers. Although the three flower sexes differed in style length, ovary dimensions and ovules per carpel, staminate and bisexual flowers were similar in number of flowers per inflorescence, stamen filament length, pollen stainability, inflorescence rachis length and carpel number, and differed from pistillate flowers in these characters. The three flower sexes had similar sepal and petal numbers. The fruit of fruiting males were considerably smaller than those of females. Low ovule number appears to be the major factor limiting fruit size in the fruiting males studied. Prospects for developing hermaphroditic kiwifruit cultivars through breeding are discussed.     

冠果草的性表达状态及其进化含义

通常认为雄花两性花同株是植物性表达两性花进化到雌雄异株的过渡类型之一。慈姑属仅冠果草（Ｓａｇｉｔｔａｒｉａ ｇｕｙａｎｅｎｓｉｓ Ｈ．Ｂ．Ｋ．ｓｕｂｓｐ．ｌａｐｐｕｌａ（Ｄ．Ｄｏｎ）Ｂｏｊｉｎ）的性表达为典型的雄花两性花同株,其他种为雌雄同株。对冠果草野外和实验居群的性配置进行了定量观察。东乡和武夷山居群雄花的比例分别为２．４８％０．９６％。实验表明,栽培条件影响冠果草的性表达：在营养较好的条件下     

POLLEN-OVULE RATIOS AND BREEDING SYSTEM EVOLUTION IN SOLANUM SECTION BASARTHRUM (SOLANACEAE)

Pollen-ovule ratio, pollen grains per flower, pollen grain volume, pollen biomass, ovules per ovary, seeds per fruit, seed volume, seed biomass, and corolla size were studied to reveal patterns of variation within a monophyletic group. Solanum sect. Basarthrum includes 22 neotropical species of two clades, one having small, few-seeded red fruits, and the other having larger, many-seeded green fruits. The former includes self-incompatible species and a dioecious species, while the latter includes self-incompatible species, self-compatible (and autogamous) species, and a domesticate (the “pepino”). Although the pollen quantity and ovule quantity of the self-incompatible species are significantly higher in the green-fruited subgroup than in the red-fruited subgroup, the pollen-ovule ratios of the self-incompatible species are not significantly different between the two subgroups, suggesting parallel evolution of the pollen-ovule ratio. Furthermore, the pollen-ovule ratio tracks the breeding system: self-incompatible species have significantly higher pollen-ovule ratios than self-compatible species, resulting both from fewer pollen grains and more ovules of the latter. The pollen-ovule ratio of the dioecious species is among the highest of all, resulting only from fewer ovules. The pepino is self-compatible but has a pollen-ovule ratio like its wild self-incompatible progenitors and shows wide variation in seed production and pollen quality, but not in pollen quantity. Among all species, pollen size and quantity are inversely proportional, as are seed size and quantity.     

Pollination, Pollen Viability and Pistil Receptivity in Cucurbita pepo

Cucurbita pepo carries male and female flowers on the same plant,and is pollinated by nectar-collecting bees. The nectaries aredimorphic in the two sexes and pollen is loaded and unloadedas the bees gain access to the nectar. Both types of flowerare open for only 6 h (from 0600 h to 1200 h); male flowersopen and close half an hour earlier than female flowers. Thelatter produce more nectar and are visited more often by thebees than the male flowers. Pollen viability determined by fluoresceindiacetate (fluorochromatic reaction) decreases by 20% duringanthesis and more rapidly after the flower closes. This decreaseis due to dehydration of the grain, especially around the porewhere the intine is exposed. An unusual feature of this speciesis that the grains do not dehydrate before anther dehiscence.Female receptivity has two aspects, that of the stigma lasting4 d, and that of the ovules lasting 2 d. The receptivity ofthe two sexes and the short period of anthesis are discussedin the light of the reproductive ecology of the species.Copyright1993, 1999 Academic Press Entomophilous pollination, anthesis, nectars, pollen viability, female receptivity, bees, pollinator efficiency, courgette Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbitaceae     

Nectar resorption and translocation in Cucurbita pepo L. and Platanthera chlorantha Custer (Rchb.)

Nectar resorption and sugar translocation were studied in Cucurbita pepo (Cucurbitaceae) and Platanthera chlorantha (Orchidaceae) by micro-autoradiography. In both species, nectar was resorbed in pollinated and unpollinated flowers and ovules developing into seeds were found to be the main sugar sink. In C. pepo, the mobility of resorbed sugars in pollinated female flowers was higher than in unpollinated ones; male flowers showed lower mobility of resorbed sugar. In P. chlorantha, radioactivity was detected in pollinated flowers below and above labelled unpollinated ones: the nearer the flower, the stronger the accumulation of label in developing fruits.     

Sex Expression and the Evolutionary Advantages of Male Flowers in an Andromonoecious Species, Sagittaria guyanensis subsp. lappula (Alismataceae)

Sex expression in Sagittaria guyanensis H.B.K. subsp. lappula (D. Don) Bojin is typically andromonoecious while the other species in the same genus are basically monoecious. The evolutionary advantages of male flowers and hermaphrodite flowers in S. guyanensis subsp. lappula were assessed by measuring sex allocation and pollen movements in two wild populations of the species. Two cultivated populations served as controls. The percentage of male flowers was very low in the two wild populations in Dongxiang, Jiangxi Province and Wuyishan, Fujian Province, viz., 2.48% and 0.96% respectively. In the two cultivated populations, male flower percentage significantly increased when the soil was of higher nutrient content. This indicates that the allocation to male versus female reproduction might change in response to environmental factors. Pollen production per male flower was 4.1 times higher than that of a hermaphrodite flower. The floral shape and size of male and hermaphrodite flowers were similar. No difference was observed between these dimorphological flowers in pollen germination rate in vitro and in the speed of pollen tube growth in vivo. Anthesis was only 4-5 h. Male flowers usually opened 0.5 h earlier than hermaphrodite flowers. An unexpected finding was that no pollen from the male flowers was found on the stigmas of the hermaphrodite flowers, in spite of the occasional visits by insects to both types of flowers in both wild and control populations. A consistent pattern of fruit development was found to exist in open pollinated flowers as well as in flowers that had been bagged. The sex ratios did not have significant influence on fruit set. Approximately 25% of the pistils in a gynoecium failed to develop into fruits because no pollen was deposited on them, indicating that the fruit set of this andromonoecious plant is mainly affected by pollen limitation rather than resource limitation. Reproduction in S. guyanensis subsp. lappula in the habitats was dependent on self-pollination in hermaphrodite flowers. The male flowers in this species might be a potential source of additional pollination and may facilitate cross-pollination. The fact that the flowers of monoecious species in Sagittaria pollinated by a wide diversity of insect visitors may contribute enormously to the diversification of sex expression in this genus.     

Gender variation of sequential inflorescences in a monoecious plant Sagittaria trifolia (Alismataceae)

In protogynous plants, female flowers of early blooming plants are at a reproductive disadvantage because they cannot set fruit due to the lack of available pollen. To study this phenomenon, gender expression of the monoecious herb Sagittaria trifolia was investigated over the entire flowering season in two field and two cultivated populations in Hubei and Hunan Provinces, China. In racemes of S. trifolia, flowers open sequentially from bottom to top, with female flowers opening first followed by male flowers. This creates a temporal separation of sexes in the species. Under field conditions small plants are often male, with production of both male and female flowers increasing with plant size. Femaleness increased among sequential inflorescences since female flower production increased whereas male flower production did not. Seed production was greater in large inflorescences because they contain more female flowers, and the number of ovules increased in female flowers at basal positions within the raceme. A consistent pattern of high seed set was observed in flowers from both field and cultivated populations. About 1 % of unfertilized ovules resulted from no pollination and 2 % of the seeds produced were only partly developed due to resource limitation. In the first inflorescence of the six experimental populations, 6.7-40.0 % of individuals produced only male flowers, and female flowers of 1.9-6.5 % individuals were aborted. The occurrence of male flowers in early blooming inflorescences could be an adaptive strategy to conserve resources and enhance pollination of female flowers in protogynous S. trifolia.     

Sex and pollen: the role of males in stabilising a plant-seed eater pollinating mutualism

Some plants are exclusively pollinated by an insect whose larvae feed on their seeds. The net outcome of a single visit for the plant depends on the number of ovules fertilised by the visitor, the number of eggs laid, and the number of seeds eaten by each larva. Unlike other known plant-seed eater pollinating mutualisms, the globeflower-globeflower fly mutualism (Trollius europaeus-Chiastocheta spp.) is unique in that not only females but also males visit flowers, and both sexes are potential pollinators. I analysed the relative efficiency of Chiastocheta males versus females in transporting pollen and fertilising globeflower ovules. I show that there is no sex-specific morphological adaptation or behaviour to enhance pollen collection and transportation in Chiastocheta flies, and that males contribute to pollination. However, because of their smaller body size, males transport significantly less pollen than females. Less seeds are produced after a visit from a male than after a visit from a female. A single female visit contributes to about 12% of total seed production, and a single male visit to only 5.4%. Females tend to spend more time inside the flower than males, and the number of ovules fertilised is significantly correlated with the time insects spent inside the closed corolla. The lower efficiency of ovule fertilisation by a male's single visit is compensated for by the higher rate of flower visitation by males: a flower receives about twice as many visits from males as from females during a time unit. The contribution of males to pollination is of major importance with respect to understanding the evolutionary stability of the globeflower-globeflower fly mutualism, as males satiate pollen requirement of flowers, masking the antagonistic effect of ovipositing females.     

The Effects of Inflorescence Size and Flower Position on Biomass and Temporal Sex Allocation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lobelia sessiliflora</Emphasis>

To test the prediction of sex allocation theory that plants or flowers high in resource status emphasize the female function, we explored the variation in both biomass (the number of pollen grains and ovules) and temporal (male and female durations) sex allocation among and within plants of protandrous Lobelia sessilifolia in relation to plant size and flower position within plants. Among plants, the mean number of pollen grains and ovules per flower of a plant increased with plant size, whereas the mean P/O ratio (number of pollen grains/number of ovules ratio) decreased with plant size. The mean male duration, the mean female duration, and the mean ratio of male duration/flower longevity per flower of a plant were not correlated with plant size. Thus, large plants emphasized female function in terms of biomass sex allocation, which is consistent with the prediction of size-dependent sex allocation theory. The results for temporal sex allocation, however were inconsistent with the theory. Within plants, the mean number of pollen grains and ovules per flower at each position decreased from lower to upper flowers (early to late blooming flowers) and that of the P/O ratio increased from lower to upper flowers. The mean male duration and the mean female duration per flower decreased from lower to upper flowers, whereas the mean ratio of male duration/flower longevity increased from lower to upper flowers. The population sex ratio changed from male-biased to female-biased. Thus, later blooming flowers emphasized the male function in terms of both biomass and temporal sex allocation, consistent with the sex allocation theory, regarding the change in the population sex ratio.     

Floral display, pollinator visitation and reproductive success in the dioecious perennial herb Wurmbea dioica (Liliaceae)

Floral traits that increase attractiveness to pollinators are predicted to evolve through selection on male function rather than on female function. To determine the importance of male-biased selection in dioecious Wurmbea dioica, we examined sexual dimorphism in flower size and number and the effects of these traits on pollinator visitation and reproductive success of male and female plants. Males produced more and larger flowers than did females. Bees and butterflies responded to this dimorphism and visited males more frequently than females, although flies did not differentiate between the sexes. Within sexes, insect pollinators made more visits to and visited more flowers on plants with many flowers. However, visits per flower did not vary with flower number, indicating that visitation was proportional to the number of flowers per plant. When flower number was experimentally held constant, visitation increased with flower size under sunny but not overcast conditions. Flower size but not number affected pollen removal per flower in males and deposition in females. In males, pollen removal increased with flower size 3 days after flowers opened, but not after 6 days when 98% of pollen was removed. Males with larger flowers therefore, may have higher fitness not because pollen removal is more complete, but because pollen is removed more rapidly providing opportunities to pre-empt ovules. In females, pollen deposition increased with flower size 3 days but not 6 days after flowers opened. At both times, deposition exceeded ovule production by four-fold or more, and for 2 years seed production was not limited by pollen. Flower size had no effect on seed production per plant and was negatively related to percent seed set, implying a tradeoff between allocation to attraction and reproductive success. This indicates that larger flower size in females is unlikely to increase fitness. In both sexes, gamete production was positively correlated with flower size. In males, greater pollen production would increase the advantage of large flowers, but in females more ovules may represent a resource cost. Selection to increase flower size and number in W. dioica has probably occurred through male rather than female function. Received: 15 June 1997 / Accepted: 12 February 1998     

Pollination of Kadsura longipedunculata (Schisandraceae), a monoecious basal angiosperm, by female, pollen-eating Megommata sp. (Cecidomyiidae: Diptera) in China

The plants of Kadsura longipedunculata (Schisandraceae) are monoecious and possess either red or yellow male flowers (the androecium), with yellow tepals, and yellow female flowers. All flower types simultaneously produce heat and floral odours (dominated by methyl butyrate) throughout a 4–5-h nocturnal period. The flowers are pollinated only by female, pollen-eating Megommata sp. (Cecidomyiidae). Pollen is the only reward, and female flowers use the same attractants as male flowers but offer no food (pollination by deceit). Open pollinated flowers in nature varied in fruit set from 8 to 92%. Megommata (subfamily Cecidomyiinae, supertribe Cecidomyiidi), consists of six described species, which feed on Coccoidea (scale insects) and are distributed worldwide.  © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2008, 93 , 523–536.     

Dioecy in the endemic genusDendrocacalia (Compositae) on the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands

Dendrocacalia crepidifolia Nakai (Compositae, Senecioneae), the only species of this arboreal genus endemic to Haha Island in the Bonin Islands, was found to be dioecious. Male flowers differ from female ones in having a stunted style (style in female exserted from corolla and deeply bifurcating) and anthers filled with fertile pollen (anthers in the female lacking pollen). The size of the corolla and number of florets per head were similar between male and female flowers. The crown area of this arboreal species was also similar in male and female plants. The sex ratio was 0.55 male, not significantly different from 0.5. Both sexes produced nectar of similar sugar concentration (ca. 50%). The flowers are pollinated by feral honeybees (Apis mellifera), but they are thought to have been pollinated by small, lesshairy, endemic solitary bees before honeybees were introduced and subsequently became the dominant bee species on the island. The evolution of dioecy ofDendrocacalia on the island is thought to stem from the deleterious effects of inbreeding that are inherent in plants with geitonogamy. The increased geitonogamy on the island has resulted from increased woodiness (i.e., increased number of flowers per plant) and the original dependence on endemic bee pollinators, which are now endangered.     

Genotypic variation for reproductive characters,and the influence of pollen-ovule ratio on selfing rate in rape seed (Brassica napus)

The variance component for genotypic effects and covariable plant vigor were estimated for pollen production, number of ovules, the weight of the flower without anther sacs and pistil, and the gender of the whole plant, in the rape seed variety Topas. There was a significant effect of the genotype for all measured characters. We did not find any trade-off between the male and female functions. Small plants were relatively more male-biased than large plants. The weight of the flower without anther sacs or pistil was positively correlated with pollen production. The selfing rates of the lines were positively correlated with the pollen-ovule ratio, suggesting that the selfing rate of individual plants is positively correlated with pollen-ovule ratio, thus supporting the “mass-action” model. It is proposed that the observed increase in the population selfing rate during the flowering season for some species, including rape seed, can be caused by an overall decrease in male investment.     

Intersexual mimicry and flowering phenology facilitate pollination in a dioecious habitat specialist species, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Myristica fatua</Emphasis> (Myristicaceae)

Myristica fatua is a dioecious specialist species restricted to the endangered, freshwater Myristica swamp forests in the Western Ghats, India. Earlier studies have alluded to pollination by deception in members of the Myristica genus, and thus we examined the pollination ecology comprising floral biology, flower production, flower visitors, and reproductive success in M. fatua and inferred the potential strategies that could permit such deception in this habitat specialist tree. Male flowers provide pollen rewards for an extended period of time while female flowers are rewardless and both sexes are visited by generalist insects, mainly by honeybees and stingless bees. Bee visits were significantly more frequent and longer on male than on female flowers as bees collected pollen from male flowers. We found that flower production patterns create a preponderance of males compared to females in the swamp populations. Using a model of honeybee color vision, we found the distance between the color loci of male and female flowers and based on minimum visual angle subtended by these flowers, we suggest that the two floral sexes cannot be discriminated by bees. Bees are likely deceived by the perceptual similarity of rewardless female flowers to pollen-offering male flowers and pollination is the consequence of foraging errors made by pollinators that encounter largely male–rarely female flower mosaics as they forage among clump-distributed M. fatua trees in the swamp habitat.     

Andromonoecy in Solanum lycocarpum A. St. -Hil. (Solanaceae): Floral attributes,visitors and variation in sexual expression over time

Sexual expression in andromonoecious species—those in which a single individual can bear both staminate and hermaphroditic flowers—may vary among reproductive events in the same plant, among individuals and across populations. This variation influences, in turn, the individual contribution of hermaphroditic plants via male and female fitness functions (i.e., Lloydʼs phenotypic gender). However, temporal variation in sexual expression in andromonoecious species and its relationship with seasonal changes in climatic conditions remain poorly understood. Here we analyze floral attributes, visitors and variation in sexual expression in three populations of Solanum lycocarpum A. St. -Hil. Seasonality in the production of floral types, the mating system and floral visitors were also investigated. Hermaphroditic flowers produced more pollen grains, but the pollen of staminate flowers had higher viability. Only hermaphroditic flowers produced fruits, and ovules in staminate flowers were sterile. Solanum lycocarpum is mainly pollinated by large bees with the ability to vibrate flowers. Phenotypic gender varied throughout the year, and the seasonal production of staminate flowers is associated with the local climate. We suggest that the higher and seasonally variable relative abundance of staminate flowers compared to the low and uniform production of hermaphroditic flowers may be explained by (a) the very high energetic costs incurred in producing large fruits, which in turn make hermaphroditic flower production very costly, and (b) the potentially lower energy expenditure of the smaller staminate flowers with reduced pistils and non-viable ovules that allow them to rapidly respond to climate variability.     

Diversity and evolution of pollen-ovule production in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cuscuta</Emphasis> (dodders,Convolvulaceae) in relation to floral morphology

Cuscuta (dodder, Convolvulaceae) is a genus of about 200 species of obligate stem parasites with subcosmopolitan distribution. The diversity of pollen and ovule production was surveyed in 128 species and ten varieties. Taxa were assigned to Cruden’s mating system categories based on their pollen-ovule ratios. Variation and correlations among floral characters were analyzed using regression and ANOVA, while the mating system categories were subjected to a linear discriminant and canonical variates analysis to assess their cohesiveness. Our data strongly suggest that most Cuscuta species possess a wide range of mixed-mating systems. Whereas four ovules develop in each flower, pollen production varies over three orders of magnitude. Several Cuscuta taxa are highly outcrossing, but no species could be identified that are exclusively selfing. The transition from the one-style flowers of subg. Monogynella to the two-style flowers of subgenera Cuscuta and Grammica, and from simultaneous to sequential maturation of the two stigmas in the latter subgenus, has decreased the role of herkogamy as a facilitator of outcrossing. These evolutionary changes are associated with an increase of species richness in subgenus Cuscuta, and especially in subgenus Grammica. Morphological features were not individually found to have a strong correlation to the mating system, but in general, larger corollas and stigmas were associated with greater pollen-ovule ratios. Cuscuta presents some puzzling results when considered in light of the sex allocation theory, as only some infrageneric lineages demonstrate the predicted pollen size-number tradeoff, while Cuscuta gracillima complex (in subgenus Grammica) displays an unexpected negative relationship between pollen size and style length. The relationship between host range and mating system is discussed, prompting further research into the co-evolution of pollination systems and life history traits between parasites and their host species.     

白背叶(大戟科)性系统和传粉生物学研究

为探讨野桐属(Mallotus)雌雄异株的进化和传粉机制,对白背叶(Mallotus apelta)野生居群的性系统和传粉生物学进行了研究。结果表明,所调查的白背叶居群均由雌性(F)、雄性(M)和少数两性(B)个体组成,平均性比为1：0.66：0.18(F：M：B);3种性别植株的基径大小差异不显著;雌株与两性植株的单花胚珠数、单果结籽数和自然结实率无显著差异;雄株与两性植株的花粉萌发率、花粉组织化学和花粉微形态特征也无显著差异,但雄株的单花花粉量是两性植株的1.26~1.63倍,且差异显著;雌株的异交结实率为96.67%,两性植株的异交结实率为76.00%,两者差异显著,说明居群内雌株的潜在种子生产力明显高于两性植株;野外观察到雄株和两性植株上的雄花具有访花者而雌株没有;雌株经套网处理后结实率超过30%而套袋处理不结实。这些表明白背叶具典型的亚雌雄异株性系统,雌株和雄株的适合度均高于两性植株;雌株以风媒传粉结实,两性植株可能兼有风媒和虫媒传粉特征。     

Extremely high proportions of male flowers and geographic variation in floral ratios within male figs of Ficus tikoua despite pollinators displaying active pollen collection

Most plants are pollinated passively, but active pollination has evolved among insects that depend on ovule fertilization for larval development. Anther‐to‐ovule ratios (A/O ratios, a coarse indicator of pollen‐to‐ovule ratios) are strong indicators of pollination mode in fig trees and are consistent within most species. However, unusually high values and high variation of A/O ratios (0.096–10.0) were detected among male plants from 41 natural populations of Ficus tikoua in China. Higher proportions of male (staminate) flowers were associated with a change in their distribution within the figs, from circum‐ostiolar to scattered. Plants bearing figs with ostiolar or scattered male flowers were geographically separated, with scattered male flowers found mainly on the Yungui Plateau in the southwest of our sample area. The A/O ratios of most F. tikoua figs were indicative of passive pollination, but its Ceratosolen fig wasp pollinator actively loads pollen into its pollen pockets. Additional pollen was also carried on their body surface and pollinators emerging from scattered‐flower figs had more surface pollen. Large amounts of pollen grains on the insects' body surface are usually indicative of a passive pollinator. This is the first recorded case of an actively pollinated Ficus species producing large amounts of pollen. Overall high A/O ratios, particularly in some populations, in combination with actively pollinating pollinators, may reflect a response by the plant to insufficient quantities of pollen transported in the wasps’ pollen pockets, together with geographic variation in this pollen limitation. This suggests an unstable scenario that could lead to eventual loss of wasp active pollination behavior.     

Pollination in a cryptically dioecious plant Decaspermum parviflorum (Lam.) A. J. Scott (Myrtaceae) by pollen-collecting bees in Sulawesi, Indonesia

Decaspermum parviflorum is a common shrub or treelet in clearings in eastern Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is widely distributed in SE Asia. It produces numerous white flowers and small blue-black fruits. Individual shrubs were of two types in 1:1 ratio, one bearing staminate flowers, the other bearing flowers with both stamens and carpels. The 'hermaphrodite' flowers were shown to have sterile pollen so the species is functionally dioecious. The flowers and floral sprays of the two sexes differed in several measurements: the male flowers had more anthers and were larger and more numerous, making the corporate visual image of male sprays more than twice as large as that for sprays of female flowers. Flowers, individuals of which last only one day, opened only every second day, when all bushes flower synchronously. When the anthers burst in the morning, pollen and sterile pollen was collected vigorously by a variety of bees, mostly Apis dorsata and Nomia spp. Most of the pollen was collected within 1 h of anthesis. Anthesis in males takes place about 20 min earlier than in females; insect visitation follows this pattern. The minute quantity of nectar was collected by only few insects and mostly after the pollen had gone, if at all. Fruits were eaten by birds. The species displays many features typical of dioecious tropical plants with the unusual feature of pollen being the main food reward for pollinators. It was pollinated effectively in Sulawesi.