Paternal effects on functional gender account for cryptic dioecy in a perennial plant.

Journal article

Natural selection operates on the mating strategies of hermaphrodites through their functional gender, i.e. their relative success as male versus female parents. Because functional gender will tend to be strongly influenced by sex allocation, it is often estimated in plants by counting seeds and pollen grains. However, a plant's functional gender must also depend on the fate of the seeds and pollen grains it produces. We provide clear evidence of a paternal effect on the functional gender of ...

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Authors: Verdú, M; Montilla, A; Pannell, J

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society
• Volume: 271
• Issue: 1552
• Pages: 2017-2023
• Publication date: 2004-10-01
• DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2004.2836
• EISSN: 1471-2954
• ISSN: 0962-8452
• Language: English
• Keywords: Seeds; Fraxinus; Germination; Seedling; Reproduction