Arisaema: Pollination by lethal attraction

Abstract

Female individuals of the genus Arisaema are the only plants known to imprison their pollinators permanently. Their lethal pollination system has long attracted the interest of evolutionary biologists and naturalists. Nonetheless, the mechanisms of how Arisaema plants lure their victims to the brink of death are only just being unveiled. Here, I briefly review the unique reproductive biology of these plants, focusing on the possibility of sexual deception to lure pollinating victims, and its role in the evolution of new species.

Keywords

• deceptive pollination
• floral mimicry
• fungus gnat
• lethal kettle trap
• radiation
• reproductive isolation