Clonal plasticity in response to nutrient availability in the pseudoannual herb,Trientalis europaea L.

Trientalis europaea plants were subjected to four levels of nutrient availability to test two hypotheses: (1) Clonal morphology of pseudoannuals with short-lived rhizomes is responsive to nutrient availability in terms of spacer length (a negative correlation expected) and branching intensity (a positive correlation expected), and (2) the size of the hibernacles of T. europaea shows a positive correlation with nutrient availability. The results support the first hypothesis, since the primary spacers of T. europaea were longer at lower nutrient levels while the branching intensity of the primary rhizomes increased at increasing nutrient supply. The second hypothesis was not confirmed, however; the plants produced fewer, but bigger hibernacles at lower levels of nutrient availability. The ecological significance of the results is discussed in the context of foraging for essential resources and habitat-related effects of hibernacle size on survival and establishment chances of daughter ramets.