ANATOMY AND RESOURCE OF THE STRIKING, SHORT-LIVED FLOWERS OF Neomarica caerulea (Ker Gawl.) Sprague

Resumo

Interactions between a flower and its visitors depend on the floral resource, which functions as an attractant. Floral resources are essential for the pollination of most angiosperms and might provide nourishment; their primary function is to attract and retain visitors. The genus Neomarica belongs to the tribe Trimezieae and is native to Central and South America. Current literature on Neomarica lacks data on their floral anatomy and the structure and histochemistry of sites responsible for producing floral resources. This study examined the floral anatomy of Neomarica caerulea (Ker Gawl.) Sprague to identify the resources available to visitors and their production sites using anatomical and histochemical techniques. The flowers are perfect, epigenous, trimerous, and have free tepals. The inner tepals contain polysaccharide-secreting unicellular trichomes, as confirmed through positive reactions to ruthenium red and periodic acid-Schiff reagent. The anthers are bithecate, tetrasporangiate, and dehisce through longitudinal slits. Pollen grains are released as monads during the two-cell microgametophyte stage. The gynoecium is syncarpous and tricarpellate, with a trilocular, multiovulate ovary that exhibits axile placentation. The ovules are anatropous and bitegmic, with a Polygonum type embryo sac. Our findings suggest that the floral resource is nectar, which is produced within trichomatous perigonal nectaries.