Flexible drought deciduousness in a neotropical understory herb.

ABSTRACT:

Premise

Adaptive divergence across environmental gradients is a key driver of speciation. Precipitation seasonality gradients are common in the tropics, yet drought adaptation is nearly unexplored in neotropical understory herbs. Here, we examined two recently diverged neotropical spiral gingers, one adapted to seasonal drought and one reliant on perennial water, to uncover the basis of drought adaptation.

Methods

We combined ecophysiological trait measurements in the field and greenhouse with experimental and observational assessments of real-time drought response to determine how Costus villosissimus (Costaceae) differs from C. allenii to achieve drought adaptation.

Results

We found that drought-adapted C. villosissimus has several characteristics indicating flexibl

SUBMITTER: Harencar JG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9545341 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature