Temporal patterns of ovule allocation,fruit set,and seed predation inAnemonopsis macrophylla (Ranunculaceae)

Ovule deployment patterns were studied inAnemonopsis macrophylla Sieb. & Zucc. to develop hypotheses about major selective forces underlying different temporal strategies. Carpel number per flower decreased significantly with relative flowering date. The trend was present at individual, population, and among-population, levels. Both ovule number per carpel and ripe seed weight decreased with later flowering date. Such temporal allocation patterns may be adaptive in late-flowering species with extended flowering patterns, because successively later flowers run a higher risk of lower resource availability and premature death due to deteriorating climatic conditions.