title: The role of petioles in light acquisition by Hydrocotyle vulgaris L. in a vertical light gradient.
abstract: In natural herbaceous vegetation plants are exposed to a vertical light gradient. In experiments, however, morphogenetic responses of stoloniferous plants to shade have nearly always been tested under homogeneous shade conditions. In this study we simulated a vertical light gradient and found that the response of Hydrocotyle vulgaris in this gradient differed considerably from the responses to homogenous shade. Petioles grew longer while at the same time the specific weight of petioles increased. The elongated petioles raised leaf-blades into better-lit places resulting in higher biomass. Though leaves in the light gradient started their growth under low-light conditions, the size of the leaf-blade was the same as in high light. Internodes were longer than in homogeneous shade conditions but specific weight decreased, probably due to increased allocation to the fast-growing petioles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 800.84, NL 3508 TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands (e-mail: e.c.leeflang@bio.uu.nl), , , , , , NL.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leeflang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 800.84, NL 3508 TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands (e-mail: e.c.leeflang@bio.uu.nl), , , , , , NL.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: During
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 800.84, NL 3508 TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands (e-mail: e.c.leeflang@bio.uu.nl), , , , , , NL.
authors.forename: M J A
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Werger
keywords: Clonal growth; Internode; Keywords Vertical light gradient; Morphological plasticity; Petiole