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Effects of node position on regeneration of stolon fragments in congeneric invasive and native Alternanthera species in C hina
Author(s) -
Song YaoBin,
Zhou MengYao,
Dai WenHong,
Jiang Dan,
Li WenBing,
Dong Ming
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
plant species biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.419
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1442-1984
pISSN - 0913-557X
DOI - 10.1111/1442-1984.12034
Subject(s) - stolon , alternanthera philoxeroides , biology , botany , regeneration (biology) , vegetative reproduction , plant stem , shoot , apex (geometry) , weed , microbiology and biotechnology
Vegetative regeneration plays an important role in the adaptation of clonal plants in frequently disturbed habitats, but few studies have compared vegetative regeneration capacity of invasive clonal plants with that of their native congeners. Vegetative regeneration capacity from shoot nodes can also be affected by the position of the nodes, but this appears little studied. We conducted a greenhouse experiment with Alternanthera philoxeroides , a highly invasive species in C hina, and its native congener A. sessilis to test the difference in vegetative regeneration capacity of stolon nodes at five different positions (i.e. 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th node starting from the apex of the stolon). At the end of the experiment, we counted and harvested all regenerated plants and determined their biomass and allocation. Both species could successfully regenerate from stolon fragments and node position significantly affected regeneration rate and subsequent growth. However, the vegetative regeneration capacity of A. philoxeroides was not higher than that of A. sessilis . These results suggest that vegetative regeneration from stolon fragments may not be a trait that can explain the invasiveness of A. philoxeroides .