Pollination biology and breeding system of Alliaria petiolata (Brassicaceae)

Abstract

CRUDEN, R. W., A. M. MCCLAIN (Department of Biological Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242) AND G. P. SHRIVASTAVA (School of Environmental Biology, APS. University, Rewa (M.P.), India 486 001). Pollination biology and breeding system of Alliaria petiolata (Brassicaceae). Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 123: 273-280. 1996.-Alliaria petiolata (Bieb.) Cavara and Grande is widely naturalized in the northeastern 1/4 of the United States and adjacent Canada, where it is an aggressive invader of moist woods. The plants are facultatively xenogamous, and the white flowers attract a variety of short-tongued bees and flies. High fruit and seed set by open-pollinated, emasculated flowers demonstrated that flower visitors move pollen between flowers. Cross-pollination resulted from the bees visiting only one or two flowers per plant. High fruit and seed set by bagged flowers demonstrated that flowers self-pollinate in the absence of pollinators. The nectar contained 51% fructose, 44% glucose, and little sucrose, which is typical of the nectars of flowers pollinated by short-tongued bees. The nectar contained no free amino acids, but did contain numbers of peptides, which, when hydrolyzed, yielded most of the amino acids present in floral nectars.