An overview on pollination of the Neotropical Poales

Abstract Current phylogenetic hypotheses support that ancestral Poales were animal-pollinated and that subsequent shifts to wind pollination have occurred. Ten of the 16 Poales families are widely distributed in the Neotropics, however a comprehensive understanding of their pollination systems' diversity is still lacking. Here we surveyed studies on pollination biology of Neotropical species of Poales. Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Juncaceae are predominantly wind-pollinated but insect pollination also occurs. Thurniaceae and Thyphaceae fit on anemophily but empirical data are missing. Pollen flower...