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1 March 2005 Pollination by bats and birds in the obligate outcrosser Bombax ceiba L. (Bombacaceae), a tropical dry season flowering tree species in the Eastern Ghats forests of India
Aluri J. S. RAJU, Srungavarapu P. RAO, Kone RANGAIAH
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Bombax ceiba is a deciduous tree that experiences leaf fall, flowering and fruiting events during the dry season and leaf flushing during the rainy season. It produces open, red, cup-shaped, hermaphrodite, nectar rich flowers, which are pollinated by bees, birds, and bats. Some bird species, squirrels and monkeys eat floral parts or whole flowers on a daily basis. Such florivory is detrimental to the reproductive success of B. ceiba as it is an obligate outcrosser for which only flower to flower visits between conspecific trees result in cross-pollination and subsequent fruit set. Very few fruits are produced per tree, but each fruit contains numerous seeds. Ripe, dry fruits dehisce and seed dispersal is by wind during the dry season.

Aluri J. S. RAJU, Srungavarapu P. RAO, and Kone RANGAIAH "Pollination by bats and birds in the obligate outcrosser Bombax ceiba L. (Bombacaceae), a tropical dry season flowering tree species in the Eastern Ghats forests of India," Ornithological Science 4(1), 81-87, (1 March 2005). https://doi.org/10.2326/osj.4.81
Received: 30 September 2004; Accepted: 1 February 2005; Published: 1 March 2005
KEYWORDS
bats
birds
Bombax ceiba
Fruiting behaviour
pollination
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