Western North American Naturalist Volume 76 Number 1 Article 11 3-31-2016 Conspecific pollen loads on insects visiting emalef flowers on parasitic Phoradendron californicum (Viscaceae) William D. Wiesenborn
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan Part of the Anatomy Commons, Botany Commons, Physiology Commons, and the Zoology Commons Recommended Citation Wiesenborn, William D. (2016) "Conspecific pollen loads on insects visiting emalef flowers on parasitic Phoradendron californicum (Viscaceae)," Western North American Naturalist: Vol. 76 : No. 1 , Article 11. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan/vol76/iss1/11 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Western North American Naturalist Publications at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Western North American Naturalist by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. Western North American Naturalist 76(1), © 2016, pp. 113–121 CONSPECIFIC POLLEN LOADS ON INSECTS VISITING FEMALE FLOWERS ON PARASITIC PHORADENDRON CALIFORNICUM (VISCACEAE) William D. Wiesenborn1 ABSTRACT.—Desert mistletoe, Phoradendron californicum (Viscaceae), is a dioecious parasitic plant that grows on woody legumes in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, produces minute flowers during winter, and is dispersed by birds defecating fruits. Pollination of desert mistletoe has not been examined despite the species’ reliance on insects for trans- porting pollen from male to female plants. I investigated the pollination of P. californicum parasitizing Acacia greggii (Fabaceae) shrubs at 3 sites at different elevations in the Mojave Desert of southern Nevada during February 2015. I examined pollen from male flowers, aspirated insects landing on female flowers, and counted pollen grains in insect pollen loads.