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The Effects of Stress on Reproductive Characters of Lobelia Cardinalis
Author(s) -
Devlin B.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1941149
Subject(s) - biology , pollen , nectar , botany , pollination , plant reproductive morphology , ecology , horticulture
To determine the effect of environmentally induced stress on reproductive characters of perfect—flowered hermaphrodites, I grew 14 clonal pairs of Lobelia cardinalis plants under common—garden conditions of 27% available light, sufficient water, and equal amounts of soil from initiation of growth until flower bud formation. At that time, one member of each clonal pair was stressed by decreasing its available light to 10% of ambient. I then assessed nectar, pollen grain, and seed production from flowers on stressed and nonstressed ramet. Stress significantly decreased seed and nectar production but did not affect pollen grain number and mean seed mass. In addition, ganets produced significantly different amounts of nectar, pollen grains, and seed per flower. These data on the effects of stress complement the generalization that stressful environmental conditions induce greater male emphasis in monoecious plants and plants that change sex.