Genetic Differences in Clonal Demography in Eichhornia Crassipes

The demography of four clones of Eichornia crassipes, each grown in isolation, was studied to determine: if clones derived from four locations varied genetically in the growth of leaf and ramet populations, in leaf morphology and in biomass; how developmental processes accounted for clonal variation in demography; and how clones differed in their response to increasing ramet population density. Plants from each clone were grown outdoors, and the births of all leaves, ramets and inflorescences were recorded. Clones differed in the growth of leaf and ramet populations, because of differences in rates of leaf production and flowering rather than in rates of ramet production per leaf axillary bud (...)