Format: ORAL

Saket Shrotri1 and Vinita Gowda1

1 Tropical Ecology and Evolution Lab, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal by-pass road, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. 462066.

Polymorphism refers to the presence of discrete forms within a population of taxonomically recognized species. Because species characteristics can be continuous, the idea of ??when to delineate each morph is highly controversial and becomes a statistical problem. Here we present a method of recognizing morphs versus inherent within species variants by extensively examining a trait or set of traits within a population and delimit them based on gaps in their frequency of occurrence. This method assumes that while there is a continuum in morphology, this continuum may not extend to other morphological, ecological, or physiological traits of the species. Here we present a complex geographic mosaic of traits of a highly polymorphic ginger, Curcuma caulina (Zingiberaceae), from the genus otherwise known for its polymorphic morphological traits. Here we describe the multifaceted nature of floral colour polymorphism in C. caulina, demonstrating that it extends beyond mere colour variation of the lateral bracts to encompass ecological and physiological traits of the species. Finally, we present that the pollinators, along with the plants traits which are associated with floral colour, play a central role in governing the dynamics of selection regimes across populations to maintain floral polymorphism. This study highlights that our handicap in defining a species based on morphological characters has limited our understanding of how polymorphic a species can actually be. We offer a new perspective on floral polymorphism that integrates the eyes of taxonomists and ecologists.