Self- and Cross-Pollination of Encyclia cordigera (Orchidaceae) in Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica

Abstract

The epiphytic deciduous forest orchid Encyclia cordigera was manually self-pollinated, out-crossed against one other parent, and out-crossed against a maximum number of other parents in Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica. There was no difference in the percent inflorescences that set fruit between selfed and single-parent out-crossed plants, and on the inflorescences that set fruit there was no difference in the percent flowers that bore fruit (85 to 92 % for 119 and 82 flowers). However, only 5 percent of the multiple-fathered inflorescences failed to set some fruit, and 97 percent of the flowers set fruit; these values are significantly different from those for the selfed plants and flowers. The overall percent of inflorescences that bore fruit and the percent flowers that bore fruit was very much greater on the hand-pollinated plants than on the unmanipulated ones growing only a few meters away. This finding may indicate that fruit set by E. cordigera is pollinator limited, but other interpretations are given.