Reproductive Biology ofDalbergia miscolobiumBenth. (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae) in SE Brazil: The Effects of Pistillate Sorting on Fruit-set

The breeding system ofDalbergia miscolobiumBenth. was investigatedby means of controlled pollinations and studies of post-pollinationevents in pistils. This species does not have homomorphic self-incompatibility,but crossed flowers always have higher fruit set than selfs,despite the fact that embryo development may be initiated inselfed pistils. It is suggested that deleterious recessive alleles,which lead to abortion of most selfed seeds, together with somematernal resource limitation, result in low fruiting success.Copyright1998 Annals of Botany Company Dalbergia miscolobiumBenth., Leguminosae, breeding system, pistillate sorting, fruiting success, seed set.