Geographic variation in shoot structure in association with fruit size in an evergreen woody species.

ABSTRACT: The generality of scaling relationships between multiple shoot traits, known as Corner's rules, has been considered to reflect the biomechanical limits to trees and tree organs among the species of different leaf sizes. Variation in fruit size within species would also be expected to affect shoot structure by changing the mechanical and hydraulic stresses caused by the mass and water requirement of fruits. We investigated the differences in shoot structure and their relationship with fruit size in Camellia japonica from 12 sites in a wide geographic range in Japan. This species is known to produce larger fruits with thicker pericarps in more southern populations because warmer climates induce more intensive arms race between the fruit size and the rostrum length of its obligate seed

SUBMITTER: Goto T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8237846 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature