New Zealand Journal of Botany abstract

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B97039
Received 27 June 1997; accepted 22 December 1997

Growth and architecture of juvenile Carpodetus serratus in closed forest canopy and canopy gap environments

JAMIE S. DAY

Department of Biochemistry
University of Otago
P. O. Box 56
Dunedin, New Zealand

Present address: CSIRO Tropical Agriculture, 306 Carmody Road, St. Lucia, Queensland 4067, Australia.

Abstract  The growth and architecture of juvenile Carpodetus serratus (Escalloniaceae) plants are described, and the habit of plants growing in different light environments compared. Growth was periodic along vertical axes, creating distinct layers of foliage separated by vertical stem sections with no lateral outgrowth. Plants had low foliage density, narrow canopy shape, and the plasticity to adapt to different light conditions. These features suggest that juvenile C. serratus capture light efficiently and follow the persistent multilayer/optimistic growth strategy described by others. In comparison with plants growing in a forest canopy gap, plants growing under a closed canopy had greater foliage density, greater distance between foliage layers, and a less even vertical distribution of leaves within the plant canopy. Closed canopy plants most likely captured diffuse light more efficiently than canopy gap plants.

Keywords  Carpodetus serratus; architecture; periodic growth; light capture; multilayer leaf arrangement; phenotypic plasticity; divaricate shrub

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (947K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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