![]() Nectariferous (‘early’ and ‘late’) flowers exhibited a cellular apparatus typical of nectar secretion, while nectarless flowers exhibited osmophoric features. Although disks from nectariferous and nectarless flowers displayed similar histological organization, they differed strongly at subcellular level. ![]() ‘Early’ flowers produced nectar from 0 to 24 h, and ‘late’ flowers produced nectar from 24 to 48 h of anthesis. ![]() Additionally, among nectariferous flowers, we registered two distinct rhythms of nectar production. We also observed remarkable inter-plant variation, with individuals having only nectarless flowers, others only nectariferous ones and most of them showing different proportions of both flower types, with variable nectar volumes (3–21 μl). We verified that 47% of flowers did not produce nectar during the whole flower lifespan (nectarless flowers). For that we used standard methods for light and transmission electron microscopy, and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry for chemical analyses. Additionally, we compared nectariferous and nectarless floral disks in order to identify histological, subcellular and chemical changes that accompanied the loss of nectar production ability. Here, we described the spatial and temporal nectar production patterns of Jacaranda oxyphylla, a bee-pollinated species that naturally presents nectarless flowers. Variation in nectar production may affect mutualism stability, since energetic resource availability influences pollinators’ foraging behavior. However, the frequency and distribution of nectarless flowers in natural populations, and the transition from nectariferous to nectarless flowers are poorly known. The presence of nectarless flowers in nectariferous plants is a widespread phenomenon in angiosperms.
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