title: The ecology of amphicarpic plants.
abstract: Amphicarpic plants, which produce both aerial and subterranean flowers and seeds, provide evolutionary ecologists with insight into the evolution of breeding systems involving self-fertilization, seed dimorphisms and multiple dispersal strategies. The subterranean flowers of amphicarpic species do not open, are self-fertile, and produce large seeds with a limited dispersal potential. In contrast, the aerial flowers usually open, can cross-pollinate, and produce smaller seeds with a greater potential for long-distance dispersal. The eco-genetic consequences of this reproductive system are a function of these common features of amphicarpic species, and must be considered in an ecological context when attempting to determine the selective basis of subterranean fruit and seed production.
authors.affiliation: Gregory Paul Cheplick is at the Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Cheplick