A concept of stress has a bit of controversy when we move from species to vegetation. Environmental stress means that overall vegetation productivity is reduced for whatever cause (more limited resources, presence of toxic elements, reduced or imbalanced water/energy supply). But species behave in a mixed way: while most species respond as expected to the stress and reduce their productivity, some species are so specialized that grow better under such stressful conditions [example – alpine Rhododendrons (Rh. caucasica) – a cold-adapted species from high elevations that cannot be grown in lowlands even under garden experiments]. Does anybody know any similar examples re light? Any examples of shade-specialists who die if the shade is removed?
Dear Prof Zaal, here are some plants that need full shade of partial shade -
Lily of the valley; Rose of Sharon, Rhododendrons. See the others in this link. There are other links on shade lovers.
http://www.letsgogardening.co.uk/shade_loving_plants.htm
This is real influence by sun light to seed germination and photosynthesis by sky exposure percentage from canopy cover, which might be determined by fisheye lens. There are our articles on Rhododendron and Betula (2006, 2009) on light influence on seedling grows and forest restoration. Last article is from Togonidze, 2015.
Ophiopogon planisvapus var. Nigrescens: Japanese woodland also called Black Mondo grass. Hedera helix. Tropical members of the Araceae.
Hi Zaza,
nr. 1 shade specialist growing in Slovak forests is Oxalis acetosella.
Also Galium odoratum, Luzula pilosa and Mercurialis perennis need deep shadow, but if the shade is removed, Oxalis dies for 100%.
Oxalis is definately a good candidate - but I am wondering why not go for ferns and mosses - it would also give a evolutionary aspect to the study.
Dear Collegues,
Many thanks for sharing this informationI Very helpful and I greatly appreciate it
An obvious one that does not deal with sun, which I forgot , is cacao - Theobroma cacao. Plantations must provide shade for the trees.
In subtropical China, there are some species.
Ilex spp. Aquifoliaceae
Camellia spp. Theaceae
Eurya spp. Theaceae
Dear Zaza
You might be interested by this paper we published in Plant Ecology where we showed that the removal of the tree canopy of a broad-leaved temperate forest killed one understorey species (Galium odoratum) which is known to characterize these highly shaded forests. Thus, this species can be called a light-intolerant species. In contrast, another species (Deschampsia flexuosa) growed better in the gaps than in the shade and was rather a shade-tolerant species. Attached also another paper in JVS where we showed similar patterns during the 2003 heat-wave for two different conifers, Abies alba and Picea abies, respectively.
Sincerely
RIchard Michalet
You're welcome. I love finding out information. If you ever need more, ask.
film ferns are good candidates in this game with saturation at 50 uEm-2s-1. They even lack stomata for the very low transpiration and are poikilohydric. Humidity and light response possibly indicate a transition from aquatic plants http://aob.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/02/13/aob.mcs012.full
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Plant Sciences