New Zealand Journal of Botany abstract
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
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