Ambika Kamath'11, Rachel A. Levin, Jill S. Miller
American Journal of Botany
VOLUME 104, 2017
The transition from cosexuality to separate sexes has occurred independently over a hundred times in angiosperms. When transitions take place in some but not all populations of a single species, they offer a unique opportunity to understand how selection through male and female function acts to shape floral morphology, while minimizing the confounding effects of phylogenetic history.
We examine changes in flower size and shape following the transition from cosexuality to separate sexes in Lycium californicum (Solanaceae). While abiotic environmental gradients across the species’ range influence both overall flower size and shape, flower size dimorphism arises through selection for larger flowers in males but not smaller flowers in females.