Essential Readings in Plant Mating System Evolution: Three Classic Contributions from Lloyd and Schoen

Plant reproductive systems have been an enigmatic cornerstone of plant biology for over two centuries (Knight 1799; Darwin 1876).Two simple factors drive the incredible diversity in plant mating strategies; first, plants are sessile and rely on vectors for potential crossfertilization, and many flowering plants are hermaphroditic and capable of self-fertilization.Both Darwin (1876) and Knight (1799) observed reduced vigor for self-fertilized compared to cross-fertilized progeny, and subsequently, a surge of studies examined various mechanisms that could promote cross-fertilization and limit self-fertilization (e.g., herkogamy, selfincompatibility). Nonetheless, there is a clear advantage to self-fertilizing individuals due to reproductive assurance under unreliable pollinator scenarios (e.