Non-flying mammal pollination systems: Case of Cullenia exarillata Robyns (Bombacaceae) a canopy tree from the wet forests of Western Ghats, India.

Many non-flying mammals help in the pollination of plant species in tropical forests. However, this remains poorly documented from India. Here we demonstrate with Cullenia exarillata, a canopy tree in the Western Ghats, how a wide range of visitors frequent flowers of the tree and how among them a few select mammals are important in pollination. Since Cullenia also uses bats as a pollinating vector, we further discuss how the dual strategy of using non-flying mammals and bats could have evolved in the wet forests of the Western Ghats.