Branch length mediates flower production and inflorescence architecture of Fouquieria splendens (ocotillo)

Janice E. Bowers

doi:10.1007/s11258-006-9114-7

Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · 70028493

Branch length mediates flower production and inflorescence architecture of Fouquieria splendens (ocotillo)

Janice E. Bowers

View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The capacity of individual branches to store water and fix carbon can have profound effects on inflorescence size and architecture, thus on floral display, pollination, and fecundity. Mixed regression was used to investigate the relation between branch length, a proxy for plant resources, and floral display of Fouquieria splendens (ocotillo), a woody, candelabraform shrub of wide distribution in arid North America. Long branches produced three times as many flowers as short branches, regardless of overall plant size. Long branches also had more complex panicles with more cymes and cyme types than short branches; thus, branch length also influenced inflorescence architecture. Within panicles, increasing the number of cymes by one unit added about two flowers, whereas increasing the number of cyme types by one unit added about 21 flowers. Because flower production is mediated by branch length, and because most plants have branches of various lengths, the floral display of individual plants necessarily encompasses a wide range of inflorescence size and structure. ?? Springer 2006.

Explore related subjects

Plant Ecology Article

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Janice E. Bowers. 2006-03-12. Branch length mediates flower production and inflorescence architecture of Fouquieria splendens (ocotillo). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-006-9114-7

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2025

Blowing in the wind: Anemochory in blackbrush habitat of South Texas

Wind dispersal has the potential to carry seeds long-distances and could inform the management and restoration of natural vegetation along the U.S.-Mexico Border. Plant species with the potential to disperse seeds in arid landscapes fragmented by border barrier infrastructure include foundational native, invasive, and federally endangered plant species. Wind dispersal traps constructed of cloth were set facing into the prevailing wind direction (SE) to characterize the role of wind in transporting soil particles, pebbles, plant debris, and seeds in blackbrush habitat during maximum events of wind speed (km per hour), and precipitation (cm). Shrubs, native grasses, the invasive Pennisetum ciliare (buffelgrass), soil particles, and pebbles dispersed in the wind, especially during maximum wind and/or precipitation events. Natural blackbrush areas supported the wind dispersal of twelve native species including grasses and woody shrubs. Sites disturbed by border infrastructure (barrier, roads, waterways) had higher seed numbers of invasive species such as P. ciliare captured in the wind traps. While modifications in passages through waterways and other structures have been proposed to improve the movement of organisms influenced by the barrier, the restoration of native plant species in damaged areas might further aid in the maintenance of blackbrush ecosystems by reducing invasive plant species dispersal into natural habitats.

Texas↗

USGS2025

Reproductive output of the rare plant Arctomecon californica does not appear to be limited by its floral visitor community

The majority of plants rely on animal-mediated pollination for reproduction. Reductions in pollinator visitations can lead to pollen limitation and declines in seed production. Arctomecon californica, the Las Vegas bearpoppy, is a rare plant native to the northeastern Mojave Desert. It is pollinator dependent for reproduction as it is self-incompatible, but associated pollinator populations can fluctuate greatly year to year. We therefore investigated if the reproductive output of A. californica is reduced in a year with lower pollinator visitation (2022) compared to a year when visitors were more abundant (2023). We documented the visiting bee community across both years and compared rates of A. californica seed fertilization and development across populations and between the two years. We collected and identified bees from 18 genera visiting A. californica flowers over the two years, with significant differences in the bee communities between years. There were significantly fewer overall bee visits to A. californica flowers in 2022 compared to 2023, but we found no impact on reproductive output, with overall high rates of seed production in both years.

Nevada↗

USGS2023

Divergent physiological responses of hydric and mesic riparian plant species to a Colorado River experimental flow

Riparian plant species can differ in their responses to streamflow variation in ways that strongly influence the composition and functioning of riparian plant communities. Quantifying these differences and the potential asymmetry of responses to low- versus high-flow phases of stream fluctuations is important for predicting and managing vegetation responses to variation in flow regimes. We measured the physiological response of two riparian plant species with different habitat preferences to an experimental flow that progressed from a low-flow to high-flow phase. Schedonorous arundinaceus , a hydric grass growing in near-channel habitat, exhibited significant and biologically substantial declines in stem water potential (SWP) during the low-flow phase of the experiment and a saturating increase in leaf relative water content (LRWC) during the high-flow phase. These patterns are consistent with cavitation risk in response to low-flow anomalies and saturating responses to high-flow anomalies in this hydric species. Pluchea sericea , a mesic shrub growing at intermediate elevations above the channel, exhibited a decrease in LRWC during the low-flow phase and an increase in SWP during the high-flow phase. These patterns are consistent with protection from stem cavitation risk during drought through leaf dehydration and opportunistic increases in water status in response to high-flow anomalies in this mesic species. The asymmetrical responses of both species to low- versus high-flow phases demonstrate unique physiological responses to flow anomalies of contrasting directions attributable to species habitat preferences and functional strategies that can be used by managers to predict non-linear vegetation responses to flow variation.

Plant Ecology↗