Reproductive Characteristics and Breeding System of Shrubs of the Mediterranean Region

The reproductive characteristics of 27 species of shrubs of coastal macchia from southern Italy were investigated. There are two main groups of species, anemophilous and entomophilous. Amongst the entomophilous species are two diverging trends in reproductive characteristics, towards either a group of dioecious, small-flowered, fleshy-fruited, few- to one-seeded, vegetatively spreading species or to an hermaphrodite, large-flowered, dry-fruited, many-seeded, non-vegetatively spreading group. The relationships between breeding system and both fruit type and seed number were examined for 129 shrubs of the maquis and 111 of the sclerophyllous forest of the Mediterranean (...)