Pollination environment and sex allocation in Liriodendron chinense
鹅掌楸的传粉环境与性配置

Recent studies have demonstrated that animal pollinators have considerable potential to effect most floral traits. Here,we report different pollination effectiveness caused by various insect visitors in a hermaphrodite plant, Liriodendron chinense (Hemsl.) Sarg., can lead to changes in sex allocation measured by pollen and ovules production. In population G bees are the most abundant visitors, but flies in population H and Z. Pollen transfer by bees was much more effective than by flies. In population Z and B under the environment of lower pollen loads, plants increased pollen production, but as a result decreased pollen grains size. In the other hand, reduced the investments of ovules may expect to improve the chance of fertilization of each ovule. Since the plants in those populations had effective pollinators, resource investments largely shifted to maternal functions. Plants achieved higher reproductive success by developing more ovules, bigger pollen with larger variations. The effect of pollinators on the plant sex allocation, may be a new fied to study the evolution of hermaphroditic plants.