Anthecological features of forsythias during introduction in the Bo-tanical Garden of the Institute of Biology, Komi Science Centre of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Abstract

The article describes anthecological features of the introduced samples of Forsythia giraldiana and Forsythia ovata in the arboretum of the Botanical Garden at the Institute of Biology Komi SC UB RAS. These species are valuable decorative early-flowering shrubs, which can not only grow in severe conditions but also preserve their decorative value. The present study determines the time and duration of their flowering, analyzes the structure of the flowers of F. giraldiana and F. ovata, and establishes the morphometric parameters during introduction in the conditions of the north. These species are characterized by heterostyly in the form of distily. In the conditions of the arboretum, forsythia plants have only one flower form, F. giraldiana has a short-columned and F. ovata has a long-columned flower form and therefore legitimate pollination cannot occur. As early-flowering species, they are characterized by rapid flowering. The main pollination method is entomophilia. The flowers of both forsythia species are characterized by a myophilic pollination syndrome manifested in a simple, wide-open corolla, easily-accessible nectar, and clearly-protruding reproductive organs. As a result of the experiments, we assume that both F. giraldiana and F. ovata can possibly have either interspecific hybridization or optional apomixis, which requires additional research.