Overlapping flower and pollen production in two imperiled pitcher plants raises conservation challenges
- 1NCSU: North Carolina State University
Abstract
Balancing sexual reproduction with vegetative growth poses challenges for many plants. Additionally, reproductive effort, such as production of pollen or flowers, is not always correlated with numbers of viable and germinable seeds. Energetic tradeoffs like these can be particularly fraught for imperiled species and might be especially complicated in landscapes with a possibility of interspecific hybridization. In this multi-year study, we track the reproductive effort, flowering phenology, and reproductive output of two interfertile Sarracenia (pitcher plants). We show that reproductive effort varies among years and sites, and that production of pollen and flowers does not always result in higher seed output. We demonstrate that phenological overlap in the timing of flower production and pollen viability could enable hybridization, and that the more imperiled taxon produces fewer seeds per flower. Results have implications for conservation of these pitcher plants, management of hybridization in these and other systems, and general principles of reproductive allocation.
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BibTeX
@misc{hale2026overlapping,
title = {{Overlapping flower and pollen production in two imperiled pitcher plants raises conservation challenges}},
author = {R. E. Hale and C. Kennedy and W. Morgan and T. Brasseur and E. Companion and W. Gay and K. Hillegass and A. Lynch and M. Paredes and G. Parker and L. Uzell and M. Zappia and J. Rhode Ward},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.02.748929},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.02.748929v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Overlapping flower and pollen production in two imperiled pitcher plants raises conservation challenges
AU - R. E. Hale
AU - C. Kennedy
AU - W. Morgan
AU - T. Brasseur
AU - E. Companion
AU - W. Gay
AU - K. Hillegass
AU - A. Lynch
AU - M. Paredes
AU - G. Parker
AU - L. Uzell
AU - M. Zappia
AU - J. Rhode Ward
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/02
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.02.748929
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.02.748929v1
AB - Balancing sexual reproduction with vegetative growth poses challenges for many plants. Additionally, reproductive effort, such as production of pollen or flowers, is not always correlated with numbers of viable and germinable seeds. Energetic tradeoffs like these can be particularly fraught for imperiled species and might be especially complicated in landscapes with a possibility of interspecific hybridization. In this multi-year study, we track the reproductive effort, flowering phenology, and reproductive output of two interfertile Sarracenia (pitcher plants). We show that reproductive effort varies among years and sites, and that production of pollen and flowers does not always result in higher seed output. We demonstrate that phenological overlap in the timing of flower production and pollen viability could enable hybridization, and that the more imperiled taxon produces fewer seeds per flower. Results have implications for conservation of these pitcher plants, management of hybridization in these and other systems, and general principles of reproductive allocation.
ER -