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Vegetative reproduction and close packing in a successional plant species

Abstract

HERBACEOUS perennials with determinate shoots commonly produce new aerial stems by rhizomes, stolons or adventitious root buds1–5. The usual result is a more or less dense clone. Preliminary field studies were made of tightly packed clones of goldenrods (Solidago spp., Compositae), common in late herbaceous stages of succession in the eastern USA. These studies suggested orderly geometric patterns of rhizome production.

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References

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SMITH, A., PALMER, J. Vegetative reproduction and close packing in a successional plant species. Nature 261, 232–233 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/261232a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/261232a0

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