ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the mechanisms by which plants are able to accomplish reproduction. The evolution of plant mating systems has undoubtedly been linked to the evolution of traits that influence the type of pollination and pollinator attraction to flowers. Seed plants have a wide array of reproductive options that have evolved under particular environmental conditions and that are maintained or changed through the process of natural selection. Plants have a variety of mechanisms to promote or prevent selfing. Monoecy is widespread, especially in large wind-pollinated plants such as trees, sedges, and aquatic plants, and rarer in insect-pollinated plants. The strength of selection of floral traits by pollinators and the plant's response to such selection may be limited by factors that are either intrinsic or extrinsic to the plant. To understand the evolutionary dynamics of plant reproduction, a unified approach between the study of mating systems and pollination biology is crucial.
