Floral Biology Vis-a-Vis Pollination Ecology of Glory Lily <i>Gloriosa superba</i> L

The floral biology of Gloriosa superba L. including nectar studies, diversity and foraging behaviour of insect visitors emphasizing significance of honey bee pollination was investigated. The scarlet red flowers born on pedicel (10.32 cm) having 6.69 x 1.45 cm tepal dimension with maximum pollen viability (88.40%) on first day after anthesis and maximum stigma receptivity (80%) on the day of anthesis. Nectar volume and sugar concentrations were maximum at 6th and 7th stage, respectively. Total 19 insect floral visitors from 6 orders, 14 families and 16 genera were recorded. Fruit set (87.31± 0.28%), pod length (7.93± 0.12 cm) and seed colchicine content was highest in hand pollination whereas, number of seeds per pod (27.30±0.84), test weight (2.27± 0.01g), per cent germination (84.48± 0.30%) was maximum in blower pollinationsystem followed by honey bee pollination.