The flowers of Heterostemma ficoides (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae) fool fig-pollinating wasps with their olfactory resemblance to figs
Abstract
Fig-fig wasp interactions are highly specialized mutualisms. The specificity of pollinator attraction is mediated by Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emitted by receptive figs. Pollinator access to the egg-laying site inside the figs depends on passage through the fig's sole entrance (ostiole). Fig wasps should avoid non-host figs and even more non-Ficus flowers. Heterostemma, a genus of 30–40 liana species, includes a bizarre Thai endemic species, Heterostemma ficoides bearing globose closed flowers that anyone can mistake for figs (syconia) of Ficus spp. Could this ‘anyone’ include a fig wasp?
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