POLLINATORS OF TROPICAL DIOECIOUS ANGIOSPERMS - A REASSESSMENT - NO, NOT YET

The association between dioecy and generalist mode of pollination suggested about 20 years ago has been recently questioned. It is argued that there is evidence to indicate that a disproportionate number of dioecious species have relatively smaller flowers and a more generalist mode of pollination than hermaphroditic taxa. This trend seems to hold at the community level as well as within genera containing dioecious and hermaphroditic species. Like other correlations among characters, correlations among dioecy, small flower size, and pollination systems provide important insights into mechanisms of plant evolution.