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Climatic flowering requirements of bipolar sedges, Carex spp . , and the feasibility of their trans‐equatorial migration by mountain‐hopping
Author(s) -
Heide Ola M.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
oikos
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.672
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1600-0706
pISSN - 0030-1299
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.990217.x
Subject(s) - biology , carex , inflorescence , range (aeronautics) , vernalization , ecology , primordium , botany , photoperiodism , biochemistry , materials science , gene , composite material
A selection of northern and southern hemisphere populations of a range of bipolar Carex species was grown in controlled environments for comparison of their temperature and daylength requirements for flowering. All studied species have basically the same dual induction requirements for flowering but differ quantitatively in their respective critical temperatures and daylengths for primary and secondary floral induction. Usually, low temperature or short days (SD), over a wider range of temperatures, were required for initiation of inflorescence primordia, whereas long days (LD) advanced but were not obligatory for heading and flower development. It is concluded that no change or adaptation in the flowering requirements would have been necessary for these plants to migrate across the tropics and their penetration into the southern hemisphere by mountain‐hopping. The flowering requirements of these and a range of other bipolar plant species are compatible with the hypothesis that absence of an obligatory long day floral induction requirement has facilitated or been a prerequisite for trans‐equatorial migration of plants by mountain‐hopping and the establishment of bipolar species distributions.