Figure 1

Two components of the 'time-limitation' hypothesis for the evolution selfing in annuals. In (a), selfing is a trade-off of selection favoring a shorter time to reproductive maturity (fully developed flowers) under strong r-selection. As a tradeoff (dashed arrows), flowers become smaller with greater overlap in location and timing of anther dehiscence and stigma receptivity, thus increasing the rate of selfing as an incidental consequence. In (b) strong r-selection favors a shorter pollination time directly; i.e., selfing is selected for directly because it shortens the amount of time between flower maturation and ovule fertilization, thus leaving sufficient remaining time for seed and fruit maturation before the inevitable early mortality of the maternal plant under strong r-selection. In this case, smaller flower size and shorter flower development time are favored by selection because they facilitate selfing (see text).