Study on Pollination Biology of Paeonia delavayi (Peaoniaceae)

This study reports the pollination biology of Paeonia delavayi (Peaoniaceae) from Shangri-La, Yunnan Province, China. The mating experiments showed that P. delavayi has self-incompatibility and cannot produce seeds through apomixes. Anemophily only had a minor role in the fertilization. A small amount of seeds with poor plumpness can be produced through geitonogamy. Seed setting percentage through artificial xenogamy was higher than natural pollination. Reproductive success depended largely on cross-pollination assisted by pollinator activities. Three species of bees, eight species of beetles, seven species of syrphid flies, four species of ants, and three species of butterflies were observed on the flowers. Artificial control of insect species observations showed bees being the most important pollinators. Beetles and ants participated in pollination to some extent, however, they were unstable. Through pollen examination on the bodies of these insects under body microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), it indicated that these insects were not species-specific visitors, and plants with similar flowering period influence insect visitation.