Cases of androdioecy (the co-existence of males and hermaphrodites) are exceptionally rare, due in part to the inherent disadvantages associated with the loss of female reproductive capacity. Tedder et al. report a new putative case of androdioecy in Swiss populations of the Arabidopsis relative, Cardamine amara (Brassicaceae), in which female-sterile individuals, exhibiting ovule developmental arrest, are maintained in hermaphroditic populations largely due to the cumulative effect of increased male functionality associated with dramatically increased asexual (vegetative) reproduction.
