Integrated growth patterns of turtle grass, Thalassia testudinum Banks ex König

Abstract

Indications of physiological integration in the clonal plant Thalassia testudinum Banks ex König from the Puerto Morelos reef lagoon, Mexican Caribbean, were deduced from synchronisation in the formation of ‘inactive shoots’, lateral rhizomes and inflorescences. ‘Inactive shoots’ (i.e. bare, pointed shoots with live roots attached) on a rhizome section often had similar numbers of leaf scars. Lateral rhizome sections were generally found in similar positions when a rhizome had more than one shoot bearing a lateral rhizome. Additionally, the position of lateral rhizomes and the number of leaf scars on inactive shoots were often similar when encountered on the same rhizome section. Synchronisation of flowering events was suggested by the similar position of inflorescence scars on different shoots on the same rhizome section. It is suggested that inactive shoots can play a role in density regulation of the clonal population, and that they possibly constitute a ‘dormant meristem bank’ analogous to ‘seed banks’, or ‘dormant bud banks’.