Island evolutionary syndromes in—and involving—plants

Abstract

Abstract ‘Island evolutionary syndromes in—and involving—plants’ identifies similarities and differences in the proposed emergent insular traits and syndromes for plants in comparison with those identified for island endemic animals. It reviews evidence for insular secondary woodiness, the loss of dispersibility, size changes, modified defensive traits, reduced fire resilience, tufted-leaved growth form, trends towards self-compatibility (Baker’s law), sexual dimorphism and directional shifts in both floral traits and pollination mechanisms, the prevalence and role of polyploidy, and of mycorrhizal symbionts in island plants. It also reviews putative syndromes involving plant–animal interactions, including both trait shifts and generalism within pollination networks, the involvement of reptiles in plant dispersal, and the development of double mutualisms. It notes that there are slightly fewer definitive and systematic comparative reviews for island plant syndromes than for animals, although uncertainty persists for both taxa.