Revision of Passiflora Subgenus Decaloba ... - Passion Flowers

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clear that these processes have blurred the distinctions between these species
and made the sorting out of phylogenetic relationships within these widespread
and variable taxa extremely difficult. However, population level studies
incorporating cytological data and DNA fingerprinting likely would reveal their
consequences, clarifying the circumscription of P. suberosa and its subspecies.
Pollination Biology
I have not conducted thorough field studies of either the pollination biology or
the dispersal agents of any species of Passiflora supersection Cieca, but I will
present information regarding these topics for the supersection that was obtained
from the literature or personal communication with other specialists in the group.
The flowers of Passiflora are extremely variable in size, color, and shape, and
represent adaptations to many different pollinators. Based upon outgroup
(Salicaceae s.l. - see Chase et al. 2002; Judd et al. 2002 - and Adenia Forssk.)
comparisons of floral morphology and theories of pollination syndromes,
MacDougal (1994) suggested that the ancestor of the genus was pollinated by
insects, likely hymenoptera. Pollination by bees is the most widespread
condition in the genus, with wasp, hummingbird, and bat pollination arising
independently in several groups (MacDougal, 1994).
The pollinators of only three species of supersection Cieca have been
recorded: P. sexocellata, pollinated by small to medium guild bees (Colletes sp.
Latr.; R. Clinebell, pers. com.); P. suberosa ssp. litoralis, pollinated by wasps
(Polistes sp. Latr.)(Koschnitzke and Sazima 1997); and P. viridiflora, pollinated
by hummingbirds (MacDougal 1992; label data from herbarium specimens
collected by W. L. Foment - Foment 1125). MacDougal (pers. com.) determined