Pollination ecology of Rhynchosia beddomei Baker (Fabaceae), an endemic medicinal shrub in the southern Eastern Ghats, Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract

Rhynchosia beddomei is a deciduous endemic shrub. The present study on the pollination ecology of this shrub provided information to understand its endemic status. The study showed that the flowers are hermaphroditic with explosive pollination mechanism, self-compatible, facultatively xenogamous and melittophilous. The flowers not visited by bees fall off while those visited and pollinated by them set fruit. The beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus causes pod infestation. Pods dehisce explosively to disperse seeds, which germinate during rainy season. But their growth is suppressed due to soil moisture deficiency amplified by nutrient deficient rocky terrain. Therefore, this shrub is unable to populate effectively. Leaf cut during leaf flushing time by locals for medicinal purposes is an additional factor affecting the vegetative growth, flowering and fruiting rate of this shrub. Its use for traditional medicine needs to be regulated in order to conserve and manage the existing population.

Keywords

• Rhynchosia beddomei
• hermaphroditism
• facultative xenogamy
• melittophily
• pod infestation
• seed dispersal