Morphological Variation in Two Facultative Epiphytic Bromeliads Growing on the Floor of a Swamp Forest1 |
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| Authors: | Cecília A de Freitas Fabio R Scarano David D Blesboer |
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| Institution: | University of Minnesota Department of Plant Biology 220 Biological Sciences 1445 Gortner Avenue St. Paul, Minnesota 55018, U.S.A.;University of Minnesota Department of Plant Biology 220 Biological Sciences 1445 Gortner Avenue St. Paul, Minnesota 55018, U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | The epiphytic tank bromeliads Nidularium procerum (a CAM plant) and TV. innocentii (a C3 plant) can be found as terrestrial plants in the understory of a Brazilian swamp forest. They occur in segregated patches differing in light and flooding regimes; however, plants of each species are found in the other species preferred habitat in a narrow boundary zone where the two populations meet. Although ecophysiological factors were previously thought to dictate the distribution of these species at this site, we suggest that their current distribution is probably related to colonization history and subsequent competition for space. |
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| Keywords: | Brazil Bromeliaceae epiphytes flooding Nidularium swamp forest |
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