Maianthemum Racemosum Research Articles

The roots and mycorrhizas of herbaceous woodland plants: I. Quantitative aspects of morphology.

The time-course of development of the roots and endomycorrhizas of five common herbaceous plants in a southern Ontario hardwood forest (Arisaema atrorubens, Erythronium americanum, Asarum canadense, Smilacina racemosa, and Trillium grandiflorum) was examined. Root growth of these species was very slow. Formation of vesicular-arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizas was quantified by measuring the average distance from growing root tips at which (i) hyphal contact, (ii) root penetration, and (iii) arbuscule formation by hyphae of VA mycorrhizal fungi first occurred. The rate at which mycorrhizal colonies within roots expanded was also quantified. These measurements allowed the rate of mycorrhizal colonization of roots of species to be compared. All events were slower in woodland plant roots than in other previously investigated species. The rate of VA mycorrhizal colony-expansion was found to be significantly faster in roots containing longitudinal air channels, which apparently facilitated the spread of hyphae. Environmental factors may also have been important since events were even slower in those roots produced by Erythronium in the autumn. Reasons why slow, steady, root and mycorrhiza formation could be advantageous to woodland plants are considered.

Light, Flowering, and Fruiting within Patches of Smilacina racemosa and Smilacina stellata (Liliaceae)

The purpose of this research was to document relationship among available light, ramet size, flower number, and fruit production within patches of two forest understory species, Smilacina racemosa and S. stellata. This system presented an opportunity to study effects of microsite heterogeneity on growth and reproduction in co-occurring congeners that likely have experienced similar selective forces historically, and to compare results among sites

Distribution of Dry Mass Between Shoot and Root in Nine Understory Species

Relationships between shoot and root masses were examined in nine peren- nial species native to coniferous forest understories in the northwest United States. Seedlings were grown in a greenhouse under either sun or shade (35% of full sun) for 35 days, then were harvested. Plants of Smilacina racemosa and S. stellata were grown from rhizomes in an experimental garden for three years, then harvested, dried and weighed. All species showed significant linear relationships between natural logarithms of shoot and root dry mass, although the relationships were less pronounced,in seedlings of three hypogeous species. Slopes were similar among six of the species; the intercepts ranged from -1.49 to 1.98. Shading affected allometric relationships in Disporum trachycarpum, Rosa gymnocarpa and Smilacina stellata. Slopes were similar between three-year-old Smilacina plants and Smilacina seedlings. In general, the relationships between shoot and root mass in seedlings of the nine species were described by the allometric equation

GERMINATION AND GROWTH OF BIRD‐DISPERSED PLANTS: EFFECTS OF SEED SIZE AND LIGHT ON SEEDLING VIGOR AND BIOMASS ALLOCATION

I examined germination and seedling growth in nine species of fleshy‐fruited plants from Washington and Idaho to assess their relative responses to sun and shade. I allowed seeds to germinate over a period of 500 days, and grew the seedlings in a greenhouse for 35 days prior to harvest. Cumulative percentage germination of six species approximated logistic curves. Species with larger seeds were more shade‐tolerant, which resulted largely from greater biomass allocation to roots by these species. Seedlings of Rosa gymnocarpa, Sorbus scopulina, Symphoricarpos albus, Clintonia uniflora, and Streptopus amplexifolius grew larger in open sun than in shade (35% open sun), whereas those of Actaea rubra, Disporum trachycarpum, Smilacina racemosa, and Smilacina stellata showed no differences. Percentage root biomass was higher in sun than in shade for R. gymnocarpa, S. scopulina, S. albus, C. uniflora, and S. amplexifolius, but lower for S. stellata. In C. uniflora, S. racemosa, and S. stellata, seeds from unripe fruits failed to germinate. The results suggest that light gaps resulting from periodic disturbance of canopy influence recruitment of bird‐dispersed species differentially and thereby contribute to maintaining high species richness and diversity in understories of temperate coniferous forests.

Morphology, Growth, and Vasculature of the Sympodial Rhizome of Smilacina racemosa (Liliaceae)

A time-course study of shoot development in Smilacina racemosa was combined with an analysis of the vascular anatomy to investigate how adjacent sympodial units in the perennial rhizome are structurally related to one another. Organogenesis is seasonal and occurs over a period of 20 mo; leaves and flowers are preformed in miniature 8-12 mo before they fully expand. One lateral bud on the horizontal rhizome is initiated eccentric of the normal plane of distichy toward the lower side of the stem and develops as the renewal shoot. The vascular connection between the renewal shoot and the parent axis is complete; all but 2% of the central bundles of the parent axis directly enter or branch into the renewal shoot. Two features contribute to the completeness of the connection: (1) increased anastomoses of vascular bundles within the branch junction, and (2) the development of special girdling bundles that attach circumferentially to the parent axis. The vascular supply of dormant lateral buds is incomplete; roots attach only to the peripheral region of the central cylinder. The complete connection between adjacent sympodial units allows for a high level of physiological integration within the rhizome, while the restricted circumferential attachment of root traces may significantly influence the hydraulic pathway through the plant.

A Note on Seedling Morphology and Establishment Growth in the Genus Smilacina (Liliaceae)

LAFRANKIE, J. V. (Harvard Forest, Petersham, MA 01366). A Note on seedling morphology and establishment growth in the genus Smilacina (Liliaceae). Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 112:313317. 1985.-In Smilacina racemosa and S. stellata the seedlings and mature plants differ in the form and development of their aerial parts. The epicotyl shoot of seedlings develops monopodially in a morphologically precise fashion over the course of three years. The first year, there is no foliage leaf; the second year, petiolate foliage leaves develop in the absence of an extended aerial stem; the third year, sessile leaves are borne on an extended upright stem. Mature plants of these species grow through the annual sympodial branching of fully extended determinate shoots, and foliage leaves are always sessile. The protracted development and leaf shape exhibited by the seedlings are also exhibited by mature individuals of S. trifolia, (a species which branches profusely to form extensive clones) indicating that these two features are generally characteristic of establishment growth in Smilacina.

Decomposition and heavy metal dynamics of forest litter in Northwestern Indiana

The decomposition rate and heavy metal accumulation of litter of three plant species, black oak ( Quercus velutina Lam.), starry false Solomon's-seal ( Smilacina stellata L.) and quaking aspen ( Populus tremuloides Michx.) were determined for undisturbed urban and rural ecosystems in northwestern Indiana. The urban site has been exposed to contamination from industrial and other urban sources for about 100 years. Significantly higher levels of Cd, Zn, Pb and Cu were found in the litter on the urban site compared with the rural site 67 km away. Black oak litter at the rural site had lost twice as much weight as that of the urban site after eleven months. Starry false Solomon's-seal and quaking aspen litter at the rural site had also lost more weight than at the urban site after six and seven months, respectively. All litters had the greatest difference in weight loss between the sites during the autumn and winter months. Heavy metal analysis of the litter in the bags indicated higher initial concentrations of Zn, Cd, Pb and Cu in the litter from the urban site. Quaking aspen litter at both sites had higher concentrations of Zn and Cd than the other two species. All metals increased in concentration as decomposition progressed except for Zn and Cd in quaking aspen at the polluted site. As metals increased over time on the urban site, weight loss of the litters approached zero. This did not occur on the rural site.

A NEW MACROSIPHUM SPECIES FROM NEW YORK STATE (HOMOPTERA: APHIDIDAE)

The viviparous females and sexuales of Macrosiphum pechumani sp. n. are described from Convallaria majalis, Smilacina racemosa, Fragaria virginiana, Pyrola elliptica, and Hibiscus sp. This new species differs from other described Macrosiphum spp. known to me by possessing a pale body combined with black Cauda and siphunculi.

The zinc content of plants on the Freidensville [Pennsylvania] zinc slime ponds in relation to biogeochemical prospecting

The zinc content of thirty different kinds of plants growing on slime ponds containing on the average 12.5 per cent zinc were determined by the dithizone method. The zinc content ranged from 39 p.p.m. in the fruit of the false solomon9s seal (Smilacina racemosa) to 5,400 in the horsetail (Equiseteum arvense}. This latter plant varied considerably in zinc at different places on the slime ponds. The zinc contents of the aspen (Populus grandidentata}, ragweed {Ambrosia artemisiifolia), and horsetail grown on normal soils are compared to those on the slime ponds and it is recommended that the poplar and ragweed be studied further as indicators of zinc ore bodies.

Meiotic Divisions in the Microspore Mother-cells of Smilacina racemosa (L.), Desf

Journal Article Meiotic Divisions in the Microspore Mother-cells of Smilacina racemosa (L.), Desf Get access RUTH WOOLERY RUTH WOOLERY Indiana UniversityBloomington, Indiana Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Annals of Botany, Volume os-29, Issue 4, October 1915, Pages 471–482, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aob.a089560 Published: 01 October 1915

The Development of the Embryo Sac in the Convallariaceae

1. In the eight members of the Convallariaceae investigated by the author, the embryo sac is formed from one reduction nucleus in Polygonatum, from 2 in Smilacina racemosa, S. amplexicaulis, and Streptopus roseus, and from 4 in Smilacina stellata, S. sessifolia, Maianthemum canadense, and Medeola virginica. 2. In all forms in which more than one reduction nucleus enters into the structure of the embryo sac, these nuclei are at first more or less completely separated by cell membranes, the degree of separation varying from split cell plates in Smilacina stellata to evanescent cell plates in Medeola virginica. 3. The difference in the degree of the separation of these cells cannot affect their morphological status; they are all megaspores. 4. In the light of this evidence it seems reasonable to conclude that all reduction nuclei arising from the nucleus of the megaspore mother cell, whether temporarily separated or not separated at all, should be regarded as megaspore nuclei. 5. Two megaspore mother cells were occasionally observed in six of the eight species investigated.

The Development of the Embryo Sac of Smilacina stellata

1. The mother cell of Smilacina stellata divides twice to form four nuclei, which are separated by walls to form four megaspores. 2. The division walls and plasma membranes which separate the four nuclei are absorbed, so that the four reduction nuclei occupy a common cell cavity. 3. Each of these four nuclei divides again, and the resulting eight nuclei organize to form the embryo sac. 4. It is plain from these facts that we have four individual megaspore cells combining to form one embryo sac or gametophyte in Smilacina stellata. 5. It is thus strongly suggested that in the embryo sac of the lilies the first four nuclei are morphologically megaspores. 6. In Smilacina racemosa the outer daughter cell of the heterotypic division develops into the embryo sac, although the long persistence of the two nuclei formed by the division of the inner heterotypic nucleus might suggest that they should be considered a part of the embryo sac. Smilacina racemosa shows temporary cell division at the close of the homeotypic division, agreeing in this respect with Smilacina stellata.