Open Access

ARTICLE

Floral differentiation and growth rhythm of rhizome buds of the spring ephemeroid plant Adonis amurensis Regel et Radde

Liu XL^1,2, JH Li^2,3, JY Zhu², YF Yang¹

1 Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
2 College of Life Science, Tonghua Normal University, Tonghua 134002, China.
3 Biology Department, Hope College, Holland, MI 49423, USA.

Address correspondence to: Prof. Yunfei Yang, Fax 086-0431-85695065, Phone 086-0431-85098994, e-mail:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2016, 85(all), 297-304. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2016.85.297

Abstract

Spring ephemeroid plants complete their aboveground reproduction and growth during the short growing season, and may go dormant subsequently underground. Little is known about the underground dormancy and biological activities of the plants. In this study, we observed organogenesis and growth rhythm of rhizome buds of Adonis amurensis Regel et Radde, a spring ephemeroid plant from the Changbai Mountains in northeastern China. Our results showed that A. amurensis did not go through summer dormancy, but started producing mixed buds on rhizomes soon after the aboveground parts had died. The buds grew in length and diameter following an exponential model with significantly slower rates in the early organogenesis stages, and faster rates before winter dormancy. Allometric analyses of growth rates in length and diameter indicated that in general diameter increased with length at a slower rate. Energy allocation, and adaptation to the environment, might play an important role in the growth dynamics and allometric relationships in A. amurensis.

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