Patterns and mechanisms in plant-pollinator interactions: Stefan Vogel's contribution to contemporary pollination biology

The multidisciplinary field of pollination biology was enriched enormously by the contributions of Stefan Vogel (1925-2015). Vogel revived and expanded the pollination syndrome concept and recognized the importance of shifts between pollination modes for angiosperm diversification. He made a number of key discoveries, including perfume and oil reward systems in flowers and pollination of these flowers by highly specialized bees. He also contributed greatly to our understanding of floral mimicry, floral integration, and floral adaptations for bat pollination. Many of his insights were obtained through his field-based research in the tropics and his close ties to faculty and students at various universities in South America. Vogel's work continues to be the inspiration for new scientific endeavours and this special issue of Flora about “Patterns and mechanisms in plant-pollinator interactions” contains a collection of 22 research papers that serve as a tribute to his legacy. The papers cover a wide range of topics and taxa, but can be broadly grouped into the themes of plant-pollinator interactions, functional morphology, floral rewards, floral signals and pollination syndromes, all of which also featured prominently in Vogel's own work.