Importance of Outcrossing for Fruit Production in Slickspot Peppergrass, Lepidium Papilliferum L. (Brassicaceae)

Plants with insect-mediated pollination are often assumed to be obligate outcrossers; i.e., pollen must be supplied from flowers of other individuals for pollination and subsequent fruit production. Indeed, many flowers with insect-mediated pollination exhibit incompatibility to their own pollen or have a separation in time between pollen production and maturation of the stigma on a given flower (Proctor et al. 1996). However, because the breeding systems of plants are diverse and include varying levels of outcrossing and selfing, experiments are required to determine whether pollination in a particular species occurs via outcrossing, self-pollination, or both. Here I report the results of such a study on slickspot peppergrass, Lepidium papilliferum L. (Brassicaceae), a rare mustard endemic to sagebrush-steppe habitat in southwestern Idaho.