Citation: Chrtek, J., P. Mráz, A. Belyayev, L. Paštová, V. Mrázová, P. Caklová, J. Josefiová, et al. 2020. Evolutionary history and genetic diversity of apomictic allopolyploids in Hieracium s.str.: morphological versus genomic features.

Cockroaches have rarely been documented as pollinators. In this paper we examine whether this is because they might be inefficient at pollination compared to other pollinators. Clusia blattophila, a dioecious shrub growing on isolated rocky outcrops in French Guiana, is pollinated by Amazonina platystylata cockroaches and provides a valuable system for the study of cockroach pollination efficiency.• We examined the species composition of the visitor guild and visitation rates by means of camcorder recordings and visitor sampling. Then, we investigated the capacity for pollen transfer of principal visitors and found correlations between visitation rates and pollen loads on stigmas. In an exclusion experiment we determined the contributions of individual species to pollination success.• Amazonina platystylata, crickets and two species of Diptera transferred pollen, but the number of transferred pollen grains was only related to visitation rates in the case of cockroaches. Crickets visited and rarely carried pollen. Dipterans were as frequent as cockroaches, carried similar pollen loads, but transferred much less pollen. An estimated 41% and 17% of ovules were pollinated by cockroaches and dipterans, respectively. The remaining ovules were not pollinated. There was no spatial variation in pollinator guild composition, but cockroaches visited flowers less frequently at the smaller study site.• We demonstrate that cockroaches pollinate a large proportion of ovules. Their pollination service is not confined to one study site and, unlike that provided by dipterans, is not limited to certain years. We suggest that cockroach pollination has been overlooked and that cockroach-pollinated plants, which share certain floral features, possess adaptations to pollination by cockroaches.Plant Biology 21 (2019) 753-761

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About 80% of angiosperms form a monosporic Polygonum-type embryo sac whereas in the remaining species eleven other types of embryo sac are found. Evidence as to the type of embryo sac is lacking for many plant species, and the role of higher-ploidy endosperm is unknown. In contrast to the rest of the Apiaceae, where a Polygonum-type embryo sac (3n endosperm) has been reported, the few species of the Azorelloideae studied form a Drusa-type embryo sac (3n endosperm) or a Penaea-type embryo sac (5n endosperm). This variation within Azorelloideae makes this subfamily, and its genus Azorella in particular, a good candidate for studying the evolutionary importance of the embryo sac and endosperm in diversi cation. We studied the variation in the type of embryo sac and the ploidy level of the endosperm in Andean-Patagonian Azorella and closely related Pozoa on a sample of 101 individuals from 31 populations of 21 species. We employed ow cytometric seed screening and calibrated the results of ploidy level estimation against embryological observations. In addition, we examined the genome size variation of the species sampled. All species of Azorella formed Penaea-type embryo sacs and a pentaploid endosperm whereas one species of Pozoa formed triploid and the other tetraploid endosperms. Variations in the type of embryo sac and endosperm ploidy have probably shaped the evolution of the different lineages of Azorelloideae in the southern Andes. A Penaea-type embryo sac, which represents a likely synapomorphy of Azorella, is a feature of underestimated signi cance in the evolution of angiosperms.

About 80% of angiosperms form a monosporic Polygonum-type embryo sac whereas in the remaining species eleven other types of embryo sac are found. Evidence as to the type of embryo sac is lacking for many plant species, and the role of higher-ploidy endosperm is unknown. In contrast to the rest of the Apiaceae, where a Polygonum-type embryo sac (3n endosperm) has been reported, the few species of the Azorelloideae studied form a Drusa-type embryo sac (3n endosperm) or a Penaea-type embryo sac (5n endosperm). This variation within Azorelloideae makes this subfamily, and its genus Azorella in particular, a good candidate for studying the evolutionary importance of the embryo sac and endosperm in diversification. We studied the variation in the type of embryo sac and the ploidy level of the endosperm in Andean-Patagonian Azorella and closely related Pozoa on a sample of 101 individuals from 31 populations of 21 species. We employed flow cytometric seed screening and calibrated the results of ploidy level estimation against embryological observations. In addition, we examined the genome size variation of the species sampled. All species of Azorella formed Penaea-type embryo sacs and a pentaploid endosperm whereas one species of Pozoa formed triploid and the other tetraploid endosperms. Variations in the type of embryo sac and endosperm ploidy have probably shaped the evolution of the different lineages of Azorelloideae in the southern Andes. A Penaea-type embryo sac, which represents a likely synapomorphy of Azorella, is a feature of underestimated significance in the evolution of angiosperms.