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Major dimensions of plant ecological strategies have been widely studied bringing forward the concept of ‘economic spectra’ of plants. Sexual reproductive traits, ‘floral traits’, have been largely neglected in this context, despite their strong link to fitness. Here, we aimed at integrating floral traits into the dimensionality of plant form and function so far dominated by vegetative traits. We used principal component analyses and constructed trait networks to assess the correlation structure of leaf, belowground, plant size-related, and floral traits. We studied forbs within two independent datasets; one compiled from central European trait databases and one sampled in the Austrian Alps. Floral traits defined the second dimension of trait variability within both datasets, while plant size determined the first dimension. Floral traits were largely independent from the leaf economic spectrum. Flower size, however, positively scaled with plant size and leaf size. Mating system was the most well-connected trait across modules of plant tissue/organ types. The independence of floral traits was consistent also after accounting for phylogenetic relationships between species. Floral traits explained a unique part of the variation in plant form and function and thus, likely play a distinctive ecological role within the whole plant economic spectrum., The study was financially supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (GACR 22-32198S). AE-V and LG received support by the long-term research development project number RVO 67985939 of the Czech Academy of Sciences. FB was supported by the Spanish Plan Nacional de I+D+i (project PGC2018-099027-B-I00). Data collection was partially funded by the Austrian Science Fund (P29142-B29).

Aims: Floral traits are frequently studied in population biology and evolutionary ecology but are rarely considered in functional trait-based studies focusing on the assembly of communities. We address this gap in trait-based community assembly by synthesizing the existing literature on processes driving floral and pollination-related trait patterns at community scales. We highlight limitations of the field due to lack of data and suggest potential directions of future research. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search collating studies that investigated floral traits in the context of plant community assembly, which allowed us to synthesize the current state of the art and point out important gaps in our knowledge. Conclusions: The literature review shows that including pollination-related traits in community assembly studies can shed new light on species coexistence patterns not accounted for by other types of traits. The synthesis presented here shows the diversity of approaches and existing techniques which can generate a step forward in this open field of research. What currently seems to hinder comprehensive analyses of floral traits at community levels is the lack of data, particularly in existing large repositories for traits worldwide, as well as a gap in linking modern coexistence theory with floral traits., Akademie Věd České Republiky. Grant Number: RVO 67985939 Grantová Agentura České Republiky. Grant Number: GACR 16‐15012S