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The Costs of Reproduction in the Mayapple Podophyllum Peltatum (Berberidaceae)
Author(s) -
Sohn Joel J.,
Policansky David
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1935088
Subject(s) - gemma , berberidaceae , podophyllum , perennial plant , rhizome , biology , deciduous , sexual reproduction , herbaceous plant , survivorship curve , ecology , botany , podophyllotoxin , genetics , cancer , chemistry , stereochemistry
The mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum (L.), is an herbaceous, rhizomatous perennial growing in the deciduous woods of the eastern USA. It is possible, by examination of the rhizome, to determine the incidence of sexual or asexual reprdocution in previous seasons. We deomonstrate that a good predictor of sexuality is the size of the preceding internode. We show that the probability of being sexual in the future decreases if the mayapples successfully bears fruit, and that there is a decrease in future survivorship. The results of observations and experiments lead us to the conclusion that the probability of current and future sexual reproduction is bein maximized, and not the umber of aerial shoots.