Pollination strategies
Plants have a sex life too. In the Malaysian rainforest, plant sex life is unrivalled in its variety, the partners involved and the strategies it adopts. It is generally acknowledged that sexual reproduction maintains variation, which is necessary to the long-term survival of species. This genetic variation increases the chances of at least some individuals being able to adapt to changing conditions, whether climatic or attack from pests and diseases. Thus, different types of pollination strategies ensure that sexual reproduction occurs between individuals, rather than between flowers on the same plant, as the latter does not maximize genetic variation.
- Information in the full article includes
- Sexual reproduction in plants
- Pollination syndromes
- Cross-pollination
- Self-pollination
- Hybridization
- Conservation
