Plant-pollinator interactions are key components of the dynamics of most terrestrial ecosystems. Since species interactions are considered to play a central role in many speciation events, studying the evolutionary history of traits closely linked to this kind of interaction contributes to improve our knowledge of the mechanisms involved. Insects are the largest group of animals visiting flowers to collect mostly pollen and/or nectar, but some insects seek other resources. Relationships between oil-secreting flowers and specialized oil-collecting bees constitute an example of a close and uncommon interaction. Flowers offering oil as a resource are found in only 11 families distributed across the angiosperms among unrelated orders. In most of these families floral oil-producing structures (elaiophores) evolved only once, except in Orchidaceae and Iridaceae where oil rewards evolved multiple times. Furthermore, even if our phylogenetic knowledge is too incomplete to infer how many times and how elaiophores have evolved within the Iridaceae, the number and the geographical distribution of oil-flower species suggest that transitions to floral oil-producing structures may well have played a key role in the diversification of the Iridoideae subfamily on the American continent.The goal of this study was to improve our knowledge of the evolutionary history of this uncommon pollination system and to test whether the evolution of elaiophores is a causal factor of diversification within the Iridaceae. Species of the American genera of Iridoideae were widely sampled in the field to produce robust phylogenetic frameworks at two different taxonomic levels. This work aimed at better understanding the evolution of the pollination strategies related to floral oil-secretion not only in the general context of the subfamily but also at a lower taxonomic level. Sisyrinchium, the largest genus in the New World Iridoideae, including species with oil-producing flowers and species with only pollen flowers, was selected for the second part of this study. Phylogenetic analyses were combined with micro-morphological and functional characterizations of the floral structures potentially involved in plant-pollinator interactions within the genus.The results showed that elaiophores evolved several times at both taxonomic levels and that this homoplastic character has played a key role in the diversification of the family on the American continent. For future prospects, thorough studies of the reproductive and pollination biology are required to elucidate how these interactions impact the dynamics of the ecosystems in which they occur.
