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Flowering phenology and female reproductive success in Silene acutifolia Link ex Rohrb

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Abstract

We investigated flowering phenology and female reproductive success intwo populations of Silene acutifolia in northwest Spain,over one year (population A) or two consecutive years (population B). Floweringphenology was similar in the two populations and two years. However,significantinterannual and interindividual variation was detected in flowering start date,flowering finish date, flowering duration, relative flowering intensity,flowering synchrony index, and median flowering date (the date on which half aplant's flowers had opened). The between-year differences may be partlyattributable to the fact that the first year was markedly warmer than thesecondyear. The order in which individual plants started flowering was highlyconsistent between years, which may reflect genetic control and/or microhabitatheterogeneity. Multiple regressions with fruit set or seed set as the responsevariables indicated that none of the phenology descriptors, or number offlowers, were significant predictors of female reproductive success.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Laboratorio de Botánica, Vegetal, E-15782, Spain

    María Luisa Buide, José Antonio Díaz-Peromingo & Javier Guitián

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  1. María Luisa Buide
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  2. José Antonio Díaz-Peromingo
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  3. Javier Guitián
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Buide, M.L., Díaz-Peromingo, J.A. & Guitián, J. Flowering phenology and female reproductive success in Silene acutifolia Link ex Rohrb. Plant Ecology 163, 93–103 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020356706052

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