Germination and juvenile growth of the clonal palm, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii, under different water and light treatments: a mesocosm study

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

Clonal growth can vary under different environmental conditions, and differences in clonal growth in the juvenile stage influence adult architecture. Acoelorrhaphe wrightii, a threatened palm in Florida, can occur as solitary or clonal. In order to predict its adult architecture, we determined the effects of water and light on (1) germination and (2) morphology of A. wrightii during juvenile life stages. Germination of wild‐collected seeds exposed to four conditions–subsurface, saturated, low, and high water levels–was monitored every month for a year. Seeds began to germinate after seven months; soils with saturated water levels had highest seed germination. Sixty‐four juveniles were grown in one of four environmental treatments (low water + sun, low water + shade, high water + sun, and high water + shade) and growth was measured every two months for a year. After a year, individuals were harvested to assess the impact of treatments on plant biomass. Low water + sun yielded juveniles with a greater number of leaves, more root mass and more branches. The results of this study suggest that A. wrightii requires a dry‐down in order to recruit successfully. Results were used to model the effect of water level on adult vegetative architecture.