Abstract

FRANCA, ROZINEIDE PEREIRA ALVES DE et al. Floral and reproductive biology of Alpinia purpurata (Vieill.) K. Schum. (Zingiberaceae): An important tropical ornamental plant. rev.colomb.cienc.hortic. [online]. 2020, vol.14, n.2, pp.257-266.  Epub Nov 11, 2022. ISSN 2011-2173.  https://doi.org/10.17584/rcch.2020v14i2.10747.

Alpinia spp. play an important ecological role as a source of nectar in the understory of tropical and subtropical forests and many are common. The perennial species Alpinia purpurata (Vieill.) K. Schum. is native to the tropical rainforests of Asia and has been used as an ornamental cut plant because of its lush inflorescences and post-harvest durability. The internal and external morphology, floral biology, and reproductive system of four A. purpurata cultivars were investigated to contribute to studies on the genetic improvement of this species. The inflorescence of A. purpurata is terminal and globose, and has flowers protected by colorful and showy bracts. The white flowers are tubular and bisexual. The floral anthesis of these four cultivars lasted 9 to 12 h, and the pollen viability was above 80% throughout the pre-flowering period in all evaluated cultivars. During anthesis, the stigma and anther crest were receptive because of the presence of stigmatic fluid. Fruiting was observed after hand cross-pollination, whereas no fruiting was recorded in the treatments with spontaneous self-pollination, hand self-pollination or geitonogamy. Natural pollination induced low fruiting, suggesting low pollinator availability in the studied area. The obligatory xenogamy of A. purpurata facilitates the development of new hybrids for the ornamental plant market.

Keywords : breeding system; floral structure; stigmatic fluid; stigmatic receptivity.

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