Pollination ecology of Agave macroacantha (Agavaceae) in a Mexican tropical desert. I. Floral biology and pollination mechanisms.

In a study of sexual reproduction in long-lived semelparous plants, we observed Agave macroacantha in the tropical desert of Tehuacán-Cuicatlán, Mexico, describing duration of flowering, flower phenology, and nectar production patterns. We also performed two manipulative experiments evaluating (a) the seed production efficiency of different crossing systems (selfing, cross-pollination, apomixis, and control), and (b) the effect of different pollinators (diurnal exposure to pollinators, nocturnal exposure, exclusion, and control) on the seeds produced. Flowering occurred from early May to late July and had a mean duration of 29 days in the individual rosettes. The flowers were protandrous; anthesis occurred in the afternoon of the third day after floral opening, and the pistils matured in the afternoon of the fifth day. The stigmas remained receptive from dusk to the following morning. Pollination was mostly allogamous. Nectar was produced principally during the night, from the first stages of floral aperture until the stigmas wilted and flowering ceased. The flowers were visited during the day by hymenoptera, butterflies, and hummingbirds and during the night by bats and moths. Only the nocturnal visitors, however, were successful pollinators. Agave macroacantha is extremely dependent on nocturnal pollinators for its reproductive success.