Diurnal and Nocturnal Pollination of Marginatocereus marginatus (Pachycereeae: Cactaceae) in Central Mexico

• Background and Aims Chiropterophillous and ornithophillous characteristics can form part of a single reproductive strategy in plants that have flowers with diurnal and nocturnal anthesis. This broader pollination strategy can ensure seed set when pollinators are scarce or unpredictable. This appears to be true of hummingbirds, which presumably pollinate Marginatocereus marginatus, a columnar cactus with red nocturnal and diurnal flowers growing as part of dense bat-pollinated columnar cacti forests in arid regions of central Mexico. The aim of this study was to study the floral biology of M. marginatus, and evaluate the effectiveness of nocturnal vs. diurnal pollinators and the contribution of each pollinator group to overall plant fitness

Parthenocarpy and Seed Predation by Insects in Bursera morelensis

Background and Aims While parthenocarpy (meaning the production of fruits without seeds) may limit fecundity in many plants, its function is not clea