Pollination and the Evolution of Breeding Systems in Pandanaceae

The Pandanaceae include three genera: Pandanus with 700 species and a large range, Freycinetia with 200 species ч a smaller range, and Sararanga with t two species and a very limited range.Using Cyclanthaceae, Araceae, and А superimposed upon the consensus tree derived from this analysis.Vertebrate pollination and dioecism appear to be ancestral in Pandanaceae, with anemophily in Pandanus and entomophily in Sararanga to be independently derived conditions.Only a few changes in inflorescence morphology were necessary to facilitate these profound changes in pollination syndromes.Dioecism, while perhaps adaptive for vertebrate-pollinated Pandanaceae such as Freycinetia, in Sararanga and may lead to its eventual extinction.The interplay of pollination syndromes and breeding systems appears to have strongly influenced range expansion and speciation in the Pandanaceae.