Researchers discovered that individual plants of four Chamaecrista species alternate the direction of their flower styles day by day, even though the overall population maintains a balanced mix. This daily switching may help prevent self-pollination and encourage cross-pollination between plants.
1
Across four Chamaecrista species, populations maintained a near 1:1 ratio of left- and right-styled flowers over two full flowering seasons.
2
Individual plants frequently showed unbalanced morph ratios on any given day, with C. diphylla, C. rotundifolia, and C. flexuosa showing significantly more days with unbalanced ratios than C. ramosa.
3
Daily alternation of flower morph within individuals functions like a temporal form of dimorphism, potentially reducing self-pollination (geitonogamy) and promoting cross-pollination between differently styled flowers.
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