Mating system and historical climate conditions affect population mean seed mass: Evidence for adaptation and a new component of the selfing syndrome in Clarkia

The evolution of seed size may be influenced by intrinsic attributes of populations, such as mating system and extrinsic factors, such as climate. Several hypotheses propose that the evolution of self‐fertilization from an outcrossing progenitor will be accompanied by a reduction in seed size, but this prediction has not been rigorously tested. Many studies report that the mean seed size of populations or taxa is associated with long‐term...