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SEED PRODUCTION AND DISPERSAL IN DALECHAMPIA (EUPHORBIACEAE): DIVERGENT PATTERNS AND ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES
Author(s) -
Armbruster W. Scott
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1982.tb13391.x
Subject(s) - biology , biological dispersal , seed dispersal , botany , euphorbiaceae , inflorescence , ecology , dehiscence , germination , population , demography , sociology
Patterns of capsule development and methods of seed dispersal are described and compared for 16 neotropical species of Dalechampia. In 15 species all the capsules in a single inflorescence develop simultaneously. In one species, D. spathulata , the capsules develop sequentially. I suggest that the difference between D. spathulata and the other species is the result of the fact that D. spathulata occurs in a low‐light, rainforest environment, whereas the other species grow in high‐light environments. Sequential development of capsules appears to reduce the loss of seeds to seed predators in species that occur in light‐limited environments. The seeds of all 16 species of Dalechampia are dispersed by explosive dehiscence of the capsules. Within the genus there are several different adaptations that increase the average dispersal distance for the seed crop.