© 2003 Heron Publishing—Victoria, Canada
Shoot growth patterns in saplings of Cleyera japonica in relation to light and architectural position
Arata Antonio Suzuki (1, 2)
1. Laboratory of Forest Biology, Department of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Oiwake-cho, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502,
Japan / 2. Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan (eurya@bio.sci.osaka-u.ac.jp) / Received March 7, 2002; accepted July 20, 2002; published online December 2, 2002
Summary
To gain further insight into crown development, the influences of shoot architectural position (branch order) and light environment
on patterns of shoot growth of Cleyera japonica Thunberg (Theaceae) were investigated. Annual shoot length and light environment were positively correlated within same-order
branches. Shoot length differed significantly among branch orders: shoot length was greater for the lower-order branches when
light environments were comparable. Lower-order branches lengthened to a certain extent even if light availability was relatively
low, whereas higher-order branches did not grow vigorously even when light availability was relatively high. Within same-order
branches, branching was independent of the light environment of the shoot. Sylleptic shoot production differed significantly
among branch orders, with most sylleptic shoots being produced on second-order branches. It is concluded that both light condition
and architectural position of shoots must be considered when examining the mechanisms underlying crown development.
Keywords:
branching, branching order, crown architecture development, shoot length.
