Oral Paper

         Macroevolution

The evolution of floral architecture and scent in the animal pollinated clade, Lonicera (Caprifoliaceae)

Presenting Author
Wendy Clement
Description
The clade Lonicera (Caprifoliaceae) comprises nearly 140 species distributed largely through the northern hemisphere. Lonicera, or honeysuckles, are well-known for having tubular, nectariferous flowers that are often fragrant. Many Lonicera also exhibit fusion of extra floral organs such as bracts and bracteoles. Across this clade, biotic pollination involving bees, hawkmoths, and hummingbirds has been recorded. The contemporary diversity of size, shape, color, and fragrance among flowers of Lonicera suggest changes in floral traits over time may be connected with shifts in pollination strategies. Additionally, the diversity of fusion observed among extra floral structures has not been considered in conjunction with floral evolution and may shed light on the possible correlated evolution with pollination. Here we describe the evolution of 15 floral traits, including discrete and continuous characters, across a phylogeny of nearly 127 species reconstructed from RAD-seq data. Floral traits were studied and scored largely from herbarium specimens supplemented with field studies and the literature. Additionally, we sampled floral scent from 16 species of Lonicera distributed across the clade using solid phase microextraction (SPME) facilitated with field-sampling SPME fibers. Flowers were sampled from the living collections of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Here we describe the evolutionary history of Lonicera floral morphology and floral volatile composition as we identify the suites of traits that may correspond to bee, hummingbird, and hawkmoth pollination and the evolutionary steps that mark transitions to each modality of pollination.