Temporal pattern of floral color change and time retention of post-change flowers in Weigela japonica var. sinica （Caprifoliaceae）

• Published in: 植物分类学报：英文版 2012, Vol.50 (6), p.519-526
• Main Author: Yan-Wen ZHANG Xing-Nan ZHAO Sheng-Jun HUANG Li-Hui ZHANG Ji-Min ZHAO
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: VAR; 学报; 忍冬; 时间格局; 粳稻; 花粉管生长; 锦带花; 颜色变化
• ISSN: 1674-4918; 1759-6831

Floral color changes are common in Weigela and the retention of post-change flowers has been interpreted as a mechanism to increase attractiveness from a long distance and shorten pollinators＇ lingering time on the inflorescence（s） of individual plants. In the present study, we investigated the temporal pattern of floral color change and time required for pollen tube growth in the shrub Weigela japonica var. sinica. Over the 4-day anthesis, the color of the corolla in this species changes from white to red and the color cue changes from yellow to purple. The duration of both the white phase and the intermediate phase is approximately 1 day and the duration of the red phase is approximately 2 days. Our studies showed that color change in Weigelajaponica var. sinica is age-dependent but independent of pollinator visits and flower pollination. Post-change flowers lost most of both the male and female residual reproductive ability and retained no rewards for pollinators. It took at least 3 days for a pollen tube to grow to the ovules and achieve fertilization. Thus, retention of post-change flowers is necessary for the completion of pollen tube growth. Our results indicate that the temporal pattern of color change and time requirement for pollen tube growth are most likely related events.