Sexual dimorphism in flowering plants

Abstract

Among dioecious flowering plants, females and males often differ in a range of morphological, physiological, and life-history traits. This is referred to as sexual dimorphism, and understanding why it occurs is a central question in evolutionary biology. Our review documents a range of sexually dimorphic traits in angiosperm species, discusses their ecological consequences, and details the genetic and evolutionary processes that drive divergence between female and male phenotypes. We consider why sexual dimorphism in plants is generally less well developed than in many animal groups, and also the importance of sexual and natural selection in contributing to differences between the sexes. Many sexually dimorphic characters, including both vegetative and flowering traits, are associated with differences in the costs of reproduction, which are usually greater in females, particularly in longer-lived species. These differences can influence the frequency and distribution of females and males across resource gradients and within heterogeneous environments, causing niche differences and the spatial segregation of the sexes. The interplay between sex-specific adaptation and the breakdown of between-sex genetic correlations allows for the independent evolution of female and male traits, and this is influenced in some species by the presence of sex chromosomes. We conclude by providing suggestions for future work on sexual dimorphism in plants, including investigations of the ecological and genetic basis of intraspecific variation, and genetic mapping and expression studies aimed at understanding the genetic architecture of sexually dimorphic trait variation. © 2012 The Author. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology]. All rights reserved.