| The specimen is the dioecious Ficus subgen. Sycomorus of the family Moraceae and merely distributes on limestone in Jinyun Mountain of Chongqing. In research, there are five wild individuals (including one male and four female), which can continue the syngarny process and produce active seeds, but whose seedlings were not found in the open. Fig wasp can also maintain its population stability. So in this paper, we examined the morphology, reproductive biology, and pollination biology of Ficus beipeiensis to analyze the growth and population of rare wild plants and provide a scientific basis for their recovery.The results:1. Male and female plants are significantly different in the morphology. The male plant has the following characteristics:oval leaf blade, papery, mucronate apex and irregular and sparsely toothed margins. The male figs bearing on specialized leafless branchlets or the main branches have a diameter of3.90±0.44cm (SD). They have a top depression and are disk-shaped. The female plant has the following characteristics:oblong-elliptical leaf blade, papery, cuneate base. The female figs, bearing on specialized leafless branchlets or having leaf young branches are pear shaped and1.51±0.25cm (SD) in diameter. The difference between female and male plant may be caused by the small number of male plants. Because of the male plants’small number, male plants’ inflorescence enlarge in diameter to increase male resources.2. The growth cycle of F. beipeiensis syconium is continuous. The growth cycle of catkins is divided into five phases:pre-female, female, inter-floral, male, and post-floral. The growth cycle of female inflorescence is divided into four phases:pre-female, female, inter-floral, and post-floral. But the morphological characteristics of male flowers, female flowers and gall flowers were difference in different periods, associated with the pollinator behavior. A male flower has two stamens (3.09mm±0.54mm (SD)), a peduncle, and two cracks in anthers. Four connate, obovate, and yellow tepals are found, with a style remaining on the pistil on the base. Gall flowers are1.37mm±0.22mm (SD) in length and may or may not have a peduncle. The stigma is trumpet shaped. The ovary is obovate and white. Three to four pale red or pink and oval or obovate tepals with base joint tightly surround the ovary. Female flowers are2.28mm±0.29mm (SD) in length, have four tepals and may or may not have a peduncle. These flowers are obovate lanceolate and red. They have a lateral style and a rod-shaped white stigma. The ovary is spherical. The stigma joint forms a Syn-stigma, which increases pollination chances.3. The development of male flowers includes a long-lasting hermaphroditic flower stage (female phase to male phase), whose pistil is similar to gall flowers in morphology. Male flowers in inter-floral phase have1-4stamens and1pistil on base. When male inflorescence is in male phase, male flowers are fully developed and pistils degenerate, finally leaving stigma. The structure of pistil is complete, including stigma, style and ovary with ovules. Hermaphroditic flower at least has a stamen and its rate is about86.9%.4. The growth of figs is a continuous process. From August to September, the number of female figs peaks (approximately4000), and most of the figs (80.2%) are in the female phase waiting for pollinating wasps. If the figs succeed in pollination, fruits hang from the branches; otherwise, the figs fade. From July to August, the number of male figs peaks (approximately130), and the male flowers of the figs (45.2%) in the male phase mature. At the same time, pollinating fig wasps crawl out after eclosion and maturity, bite the galls completely, mate and then look for new figs spawning. Some pollinating wasps in the process enter the female figs in the female phase, thereby completing the pollination for F. beipeiensis. The number of male figs sharply declines after the peak period. In general, number of F. beipeiensis figs has only one peak in a year (from July to September) when the pollinating fig wasps act relatively frequent.5. Only one type of pollinating fig wasp (i.e., Ceratosolen sp.) is found in F. beipeiensis. Female wasps are dark brown and winged, whereas male wasps are tawny and wingless. The eclosion and maturity of pollinating fig wasps occur from July to August when the temperature in Beibei Chongqing reaches39℃to40℃. The lack of water causes the fading of many figs and the death of numerous pollinating fig wasps. The figs that faded are picked up and counted. Calculation results show that mortality can reach70%.6. The male figs have4323.37±118.69(SD) gall flowers and716.87±103.81(SD) galls. The gall formation rate is16.58%±14.75%(SD), with a range of6.20%to31.20%. The number of pollinating fig wasps is630.04±121.81(SD). The number of female wasps is more than that of male wasps, and the sex ratio is approximately0.1168±0.0239(SD). The numbers of female flowers and fruits are1541.45±191.68(SD) and395.23±103.77(SD), respectively. The fruiting rate is approximately25.64%±54.13%(SD), with a range of2%to70%. The fruiting rate is positively correlated with the numbers of entering pollinating fig wasps and pollen. One to three wasps are found in a fig, which is more common in male inflorescence than in female inflorescence.7. F. beipeiensis seed is completely hard, yellow, and oval. F. beipeiensis seed does not germinate until35d. In addition, F. beipeiensis seed testa is so hard that the seed cannot absorb water. The morphology of the seeds has no difference on the35th day compared with the initial day. Dealing seeds with acid allows them to fully absorb water and to geminate on the7th d when the germination rate is beyond85%. Seeds can grow into seedlings. However, these seedlings are slender and weak.8. Comparing Ficus beipeiensis with two similar Ficus (Ficus auriculata. and Ficus oligodon.) in morphology. The results have shown that the difference between the two Ficus and Ficus beipeiensis no matter in flowers number or length is rather obvious. Ficus beipeiensis has unique living conditions and distributed areas, which are not overlapping with areas of Ficus auriculata. and Ficus oligodon.. However, leaf shape of Ficus beipeiensis male plants is similar to that of Ficus auriculata.. Male figs are similar to Ficus auriculata. and Ficus oligodon. figs. In terms of this point, there is relation between the two Ficus and Ficus beipeiensis. The relations of the three Ficus can be proved by molecular biology in future. |
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