Pollination biology of five Leucas spp. (Lamiaceae) in Southern Western Ghats
Prasad. E. R. & Sunojkumar P.
The genus Leucas shows remarkable differentiation in floral traits among related species. Pollination systems and pollinator syndromes were diverse among five studied species of genus Leucas (Lamiaceae). Pollination biolosgy of the morphologically diverse genus Leucas was investigated by means of field observations as well as laboratory tests. Detailed studies were carried out regarding flowering phenology, anther dehiscence, pollen viability, pollen morphology, and stigma receptivity. The long corolla tubed flower L. sivadasaniana frequently visited by Macroglossum lepidum being the potential pollinator of that particular species. Here proboscis length well corresponded to corolla tube lengths of Leucas spp. Other short corolla tubed Leucas members (L. chinensis, L. ciliata, L. angularis, and L. biflora) were frequently visited by Hymenopterans. Our study concluded that corolla tube length of flower and proboscis length of insects correlated with each other.