Effects of light and nutrient availability on chasmogamy and cleistogamy in an understory tropical herb,Calathea micans (Marantaceae)

The effects of light and nutrient availability on chasmogamous and cleistogamous flower and fruit production were investigated in an understory tropical herb, Calathea micans (Marantaceae). I censused chasmogamous and cleistogamous flower and fruit production at five permanently marked demographic study sites in Costa Rica, characterized by different successional stages. Using a transplant experiment, I examined whether an increase in light and/or nutrients would increase chasmogamous and/or cleistogamous flower production. In natural populations as well as in the experiment, chasmogamous reproduction increased with light; nutrient availability significantly increased chasmogamous reproduction in the transplant experiment. Field observations indicated that very few plants reproduced and low investment in reproduction might have been due to poor environmental conditions. Larger plants had a higher probability of reproducing, but plant size did not have an effect on the mode of reproduction, chasmogamy vs. cleistogamy. However, the production of new vegetative shoots increased the probability of producing chasmogamous inflorescences. Cleistogamy may allow the plant to reproduce even in conditions of poor habitat quality and assures some seed set even in conditions unfavorable to plant growth.