Nectar production in Louisiana iris hybrids

Wesselingh, Renate A. [UCL] Arnold, Michael L. [University of Georgia, Athens]

Nectar is an important attractant for pollinators, and a plant's success in sexual reproduction can be influenced by the amount and concentration of nectar produced by its flowers. We studied nectar production over flower lifetime in Iris fulva, Iris brevicaulis, and four classes of hybrids - reciprocal F-1's and backcrosses - between these species. Iris fulva produced less concentrated nectar than did I. brevicaulis, whereas I. brevicaulis flowers had a shorter life span. Hybrids were not intermediate, but they had the high nectar concentration of I. brevicaulis combined with the long life span of I. fulva flowers. Nectar production and concentration declined after the first day in all classes, but flowers continued to produce nectar until they were completely wilted. Backcrosses did not show a shift in mean or increased variation for the characters that distinguished the parental species; backcrosses toward I. fulva retained the high nectar concentration of I. brevicaulis, and backcrosses toward I. brevicaulis did not have a reduced flower life span. Overall, F-1 hybrid flowers produced the highest amounts of nectar and nectar sugar over their life spans. These results, together with previously obtained data on pollinator choice in mixed arrays of the same flower classes, show that F-1 hybrids between these species do not suffer from reduced attractiveness to pollinators. F-1 individuals produced more nectar and nectar sugar than did their parents, and thus, they are possibly even more attractive to pollinators that forage for nectar.