An analysis of age‐and size‐dependent flowering: A critical‐production model

Abstract Three critical phenomena of flowering can be recognized in nature: critical age, critical initial size and critical switchover size. In order to understand the ecological significance of these flowering phenomena from the viewpoint of matter production, a simple model of flowering phenomean (critical‐production model) was studied, assuming that plant flowering is controlled by the productive capacity of the plant (critical‐production model, under the condition that plants forecast environmental conditions affecting matter production. Thus, we concluded that all three critical phenomena are various manifestation of the same critical‐production principle. Then, using the model simulation, the reliability of each critical phenomenon for securing a given critical production was investigated in relation to the photosynthetic productivity of the habitat. The main predictions obtained from the simulation were as follows: 1) Only annual and biennial plants will show critical age phenomena, and most biennials will be facultative. 2) Among perennials, the critical initial size phenomenon will appear in low productive habitats, whereas in high productive habitats the critical switchover size phenomenon will be observed.