Peter O'Byrne who said: >I suspect that many (most ? all ?) orchid species produce a small >percentage of autogamous-form seeds every time they set a capsule. >I think it would be fairly easy for a plant to evolve a single gene that >leads to autogamy; almost any deficiency in the material of the >rostellum would result in the necessary outcome. Such a gene would >give the species a valuable evolutionary advantage ... the ability to >colonise fresh territory from just one seed, even in the absence of pollinators.
Thanks Peter, Your hypothesis makes a lot more sense than external triggers being responsible for autogamy, though I have heard it more than ones portrayed as such.
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