Resource Allocation and Translocation to Sexual Reproduction and Clonal Growth in the Rewardless Orchid Cypripedium parviflorum
Abstract
Resource allocation trade-offs may occur between life-history traits in plants, including sexual reproduction and clonal growth. Pollination (fruit) failure may relax trade-offs, and excess resources stored in rhizomes may increase clonal growth. Two varieties of Cypripedium parviflorum, a rewardless orchid, responded to pollination success or failure with resource allocation (within ramets) and translocation (between ramets) appropriate to their respective life histories. Ramets financed their own fruits and had greater rhizome allocation in response to pollination failure. Var. makasin had low fruit set (~19.1%), prioritized fruit production, and translocated resources to sister ramets developing fruits (ramet and genet trade-offs). Var. pubescens had high fruit set (~45.1%), allocated more resources to leaves, which gained mass when developing fruits, and did not translocate resources (mitigated ramet trade-offs and no genet trade-offs). Clonality declined with increasing fruit set when fruit set was poor (i.e., var. makasin) and in low-density and large populations.
Description
Keywords
Botany, Ecology
Citation
Sawich, L. S. (2017). Resource Allocation and Translocation to Sexual Reproduction and Clonal Growth in the Rewardless Orchid Cypripedium parviflorum (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27645