The mechanism and inheritance of intra flower self‐pollination in self‐pollinating variant strains of periwinkle was studied using three self‐pollinating and two non‐self‐pollinating but fully self‐fertile strains. Intraflower self‐pollination in self‐pollinating strains occurred due to the continued growth of the gynoecium beyond the base of the anthers, even after anthesis, resulting in intra flower self‐pollination. In non‐self‐pollinating strains, the stigma remained below the base of the anthers and did not come into contact with the pollen up to flower drop. Intraflower self‐pollination was found to be governed by duplicate recessive genes. The utility of the intra flower self‐pollination trait in the breeding of periwinkle cultivars is discussed.
