Passerine bird pollination and fruiting behaviour in a dry season blooming tree species, Erythrina suberosa Roxb. (Fabaceae) in the Eastern Ghats forests, India

Abstract

Erythrina suberosa blooms during the dry-season. The flowers are large, papilionaceous, and partly self-compatible. The floral characteristics provide an example of ornithophilous pollination; all the flowers are pollinated exclusively by passerine birds. The fruit set rate was only 10%, but this was compensated for by a higher seed set rate. The flowers normally produce seven ovules, with those in the number two and five positions appearing to be the most preferred for seed development.