Pollination

Also known as: Compositae, aster family, composite family, daisy family
Also called:
Compositae

The members of Asteraceae, together with the other families in the order Asterales, employ a system of pollination known as plunger, or secondary, pollination. In this system the flowers are such that the stamens form a tube around the immature style, with their pollen surfaces facing inward. As the style elongates within the tube of anthers, it pushes the pollen out on specialized hairs located beneath the closed stigma. These hairs present the pollen to pollinators while the stigma is still unreceptive, thus facilitating outcrossing (the movement of pollen between individuals). When the stigma becomes receptive, it waits for outcross pollen until near the end of its receptive period, at which point it curls down to self-pollinate with the pollen-covered hairs, thereby ensuring seed production.

Pollination is effected by diverse agents, most commonly various sorts of insects. The individual flowers of most Asteraceae species are relatively small, and the nectar within the corolla tube is thus readily available to most insect visitors; no long tongue is needed to reach it. The pollen itself is freely exposed on the surface of the head, and a single head is likely to be visited by several kinds of insects. A minority of the members of the family are wind-pollinated; these generally have small and inconspicuous flower heads. Some species are pollinated by both wind and insects. Solidago speciosa, one of the common goldenrods of the eastern United States, for example, produces a considerable amount of airborne pollen in addition to attracting insect visitors. The goldenrods, like the ragweeds, generally flower in late summer and fall. Because goldenrods are common and conspicuous when ragweeds release pollen into the wind, they often have been blamed for allergies that are actually caused primarily by ragweeds. Relatively few species of Asteraceae are regularly self-pollinated; the genus Psilocarphus is an example. Bird pollination is also uncommon, the tropical American genus Mutisia being a notable exception.

Fruit and seeds

Various genera and individual species are known to reproduce by apomixis (the setting of seed without fertilization), either completely or in addition to normal sexual means. The genus Antennaria (pussytoes), well known in the Northern Hemisphere, is dioecious, and some of the species are represented in large parts of their range only by pistillate plants. In this genus normal sexual reproduction yields equal numbers of staminate and pistillate plants, but apomictic reproduction yields only pistillate plants. Apomixis is often associated with polyploidy (the presence of three or more complete sets of chromosomes in every cell) in Asteraceae, as well as with a past history of hybridization.

The members of Asteraceae produce a type of fruit called an achene, which is dry and single-seeded and does not open at maturity. The apparent seeds of the sunflower, for example, are actually achenes. The hull is the achenial wall, and the actual seed coat surrounding the embryo is a thin, papery layer. The seed has virtually no endosperm; its reserve food is stored largely in the two cotyledons (seed leaves) of the embryo. In Asteraceae seed dispersal it is really the achenes (each containing a seed) that are dispersed.

The seeds of many Asteraceae species are distributed in a variety of ways, often aided by modifications of the floral pappus. When the pappus consists of numerous capillary bristles, as in Taraxacum officinale (dandelion), it facilitates distribution of the achenes by the wind by providing buoyancy. In some other genera, such as Bidens (beggar-tick), the pappus awns are barbed, which permits them to stick in fur or clothing, and some achenes are thus transported by animals. Similarly, some species have barbed structures or are provided with hooks or spines, as in Xanthium strumarium (cocklebur) or Arctium (burdock), engaging humans or animals as means of transport. In cocklebur and burdock, the protective bracts surrounding the developing head (involucre) are provided with hooks, and the whole head is distributed intact. The hooked heads of burdock are said to have inspired the invention of Velcro, a modern fabric fastener utilizing many tiny hooks that attach to a base containing numerous small loops. In Coreopsis (tickseed) the achene is thin and flat, and the surface area is increased by the presence of an even thinner expanded margin (wing).

Other means of seed dispersal are less common. The achenes of species that grow in wet places may be carried in mud on the feet of migrating waterfowl. Those of some streamside species are buoyant, achieving dispersal by floating until they become waterlogged. In Centaurea and some related genera, the achenes are attractive to ants, which carry them about and feed on special parts of the wall. The achenes of some field weeds have been widely distributed by becoming mixed with the seeds of cultivated crops. Many other members of the order have no obvious means of seed dispersal.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.