Gynodioecy and floral dimorphism of Glechoma longituba (Nakai) Kuprian. (Lamiaceae) in Korea

The present study was focused on the careful investigation of Glechoma longituba flowers collected from four populations in Korea to clarify their precise sexual systems. All floral characters of this taxon were examined by using a stereo microscopy. The nutlet size and production were compared between two distinct morphs (i.e., hermaphrodites and females), and pollen viability test of hermaphrodite and intermediate phenotype (i.e., individuals with a mixture of females and perfect flowers) was also observed by light microscopy (LM). All of the investigated floral characters of G. longituba are significantly different from one sexual morph to another. Hermaphroditic plants were larger than the female ones in corolla width and length, calyx length, filament length, anther length, and style length (all P < 0.0001, respectively). However, the nutlet width of the female plants was larger than those of the hermaphrodites (P = 0.013). Nutlet production of females was higher than hermaphrodites in Na-Ju population [H (Hermaphrodite): ca. 17.76%, F (Female): ca. 37.45%], but in Mun-San population was no significant difference between these sexual morphs (H: ca. 57.52%, F: ca. 53.16%). We have found significant differences between the fertile pollen grain of hermaphrodite and sterile pollen grain of intermediate phenotype based on pollen size and viability. The results of the present study suggest that compensation (flower size dimorphism, seed set, and pollen viability) is one of the main mechanisms in order to maintain female plants in gynodioecious G. longituba.