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Borba et al. studied five species of Pleurothallis (Orchidaceae) that are pollinated by flies. Despite the fact that fly behavior enables self-pollination, genetic variability in all 22 populations studied was high. The authors suggest that genetic and mechanical barriers that prevent self-pollination, traits uncommon in Orchidaceae, are responsible for maintenance of the high genetic variability. The genetic similarity among conspecific populations is also high for species with short-range flying pollinators. (see p. 419)

Modern analogs of enigmatic microfossils produced

Difficulty in interpreting fragmentary remains in pre-Devonian deposits and lack of knowledge about the fossilization potential of bryophytes are two issues addressed in a study by Kodner and Graham. They treated two species of Polytrichum, the "hairy-cap" moss, with strong acids at high temperatures in order to reproduce decomposition of ancient plants during fossilization. While the bodies of the mosses disintegrated during this treatment, several types of tissues were resistant. Among these, the calyptra ("hairy cap") yielded branched tubes that were similar in size and shape to some of the enigmatic tubular microfossils of Siluran-Devonian origin. (see p. 462)

Seed germination in Sarracenia

Ellison has produced the first comprehensive survey of seed germination in the well-known carnivorous pitcher plants (Sarraceniaceae) of North America. This study not only provides useful, new information about the germination of Sarracenia seeds per se but also suggests a way in which germination data might be used to help resolve disagreements among existing phylogenies of the genus. Groups of Sarracenia species based on seed size and germination characteristics differed from those produced by a cladistic analysis of these species based on ITS-1 and ITS-2 sequences, but support recent proposals to elevate the Gulf Coast variety of Sarracenia purpurea to species status. (see p. 429)

Tree fern performance

Arens has assembled a 31-month data set from an Andean cloud forest in Colombia, in which she measured the performance of 60 individuals of the tree fern Cyathea caracasana in three habitat types. The author infers that tree ferns exhibit a flexible reproductive strategy, including a persistence phase when the plants are shaded by the canopy. The paper is an important contribution to the development of a strategy to quantitatively characterize the ecological lifestyles of fern species in general and tree fern species in particular. (see p. 545)

This Article Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content