Herkogamy (or hercogamy) is the spatial separation of the

anther The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s and stigma in hermaphroditic

angiosperms Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit. T ...

. It is a common strategy for reducing self-fertilization.

Common forms

*Approach herkogamy - (called "pin flowers") is displayed when the stigma is displayed above the level of the anthers. This arrangement of sex organs causes floral visitors to first contact the stigma, before removing

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

from the anthers. This form of herkogamy is considered to be common, and is associated with a large, diverse fauna of floral visitors/

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female carpel, stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are ...

s. *Reverse herkogamy - (called "thrum flowers") is displayed when the stigma is recessed below the level of the anthers. This arrangement causes floral visitors to first contact the anthers before the stigma. For this reason, reverse herkogamy is believed to facilitate greater pollen export than approach herkogamy. This type of sex-organ arrangement is typically associated with

Lepidopteran Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organisms, making it ...

(moth or butterfly) pollination.

References

*{{cite book, title=Diversity and evolutionary biology of tropical flowers. Cambridge tropical biology series, year=1996, publisher=Cambridge University Press, isbn= 9780521565103, pages=194–195, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8_DfMSS9r9cC&dq=Herkogamy&pg=PA194, author=Peter K. Endress, accessdate=25 February 2012 Pollination Plant morphology

Common forms

See also

References