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Resources limit the fecundity of three woodland herbs

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Summary

Effects of supplemental hand pollination on fruit set, seed number, and seed weight were examined for 3 perennial, woodland herbs, Uvularia sessilifolia, Geranium maculatum, and Maianthemum canadense. We found no evidence for pollen limitation of any measure of fecundity. Low light probably limited fecundity in Geranium, while soil nitrogen limited the number of sseds/fruit in Maianthemum. For Geranium and Maianthemum the relationship between the number of flowers and fecundity varied in differeent years. Maianthemum ramets with greater than average flower numbers had a decreased chance of reproductive failure than did ramets with few flowers.

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Author notes

  1. C. McCall

    Present address: Botany Department, University of Wisconsin, 53706, Madison, WI, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Department, Boston University, 02215, Boston, MA, USA

    C. McCall & R. B. Primack

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  1. C. McCall
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  2. R. B. Primack
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McCall, C., Primack, R.B. Resources limit the fecundity of three woodland herbs. Oecologia 71, 431–435 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00378717

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00378717

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