Pollinator Visitation, Floral Display, and Nectar Production of the Sexual Morphs of a Gynodioecious Shrub

When more pollinator visits are required to remove pollen than are required to fertilize all of the ovules, male-functioning plants are expected under theory to allocate more resources to secondary floral structures and products. We found that for the gynodioecious shrub, Hebe stricta, there were no differences between the perfect-flowered («male») morph and the male-sterile («female») morph in many important aspects of their displays (number fo flowering shoots, number of flowers per inflorescence, timing of floral opening, size of corolla), but the flowers on the male morph had significantly larger anthers that extended a greater distance out of the floral tube (...)