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LIFE HISTORY AND REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY OF CLITORIA FRAGRANS RELATIVE TO FIRE HISTORY ON THE AVON PARK AIR FORCE RANGE

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Date Issued:
2007
Abstract/Description:
The southeastern coastal plain of the United States is a center of endemism for plants in temperate North America and second only to California among the states. In the southeast, Florida has the largest number of these endemic plants. The largest number of these Florida endemics can be found in the fire maintained scrub and sandhill communities located on sandy ridges in Central Florida. One such endemic is Clitoria fragrans, a rare perennial herb. C. fragrans reproduces via a mixed mating system. It produces both open, chasmogamous flowers and closed, selfed, cleistogamous flowers. Little else is known about its biology. I monitored populations of C. fragrans from 2003-2005 on the Avon Park Air Force Range. I tracked plant density, finite rate of population increase, plant survivorship and reproduction relative to the time since fire and season of fire. I found that recently burned plots had a higher density of plants than those unburned for over 13 years. Unburned populations decreased in all years of the study. In all three years, the majority of flowers produced by Clitoria fragrans were cleistogamous. The production of chasmogamous flowers appears to be influenced by plant size and potentially fire. Unburned plots had less variation than recently burned plots for all independent variables.
Title: LIFE HISTORY AND REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY OF CLITORIA FRAGRANS RELATIVE TO FIRE HISTORY ON THE AVON PARK AIR FORCE RANGE.
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Name(s): Lewis, Michelle, Author
Stout, I. Jack, Committee Chair
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2007
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: The southeastern coastal plain of the United States is a center of endemism for plants in temperate North America and second only to California among the states. In the southeast, Florida has the largest number of these endemic plants. The largest number of these Florida endemics can be found in the fire maintained scrub and sandhill communities located on sandy ridges in Central Florida. One such endemic is Clitoria fragrans, a rare perennial herb. C. fragrans reproduces via a mixed mating system. It produces both open, chasmogamous flowers and closed, selfed, cleistogamous flowers. Little else is known about its biology. I monitored populations of C. fragrans from 2003-2005 on the Avon Park Air Force Range. I tracked plant density, finite rate of population increase, plant survivorship and reproduction relative to the time since fire and season of fire. I found that recently burned plots had a higher density of plants than those unburned for over 13 years. Unburned populations decreased in all years of the study. In all three years, the majority of flowers produced by Clitoria fragrans were cleistogamous. The production of chasmogamous flowers appears to be influenced by plant size and potentially fire. Unburned plots had less variation than recently burned plots for all independent variables.
Identifier: CFE0001950 (IID), ucf:47459 (fedora)
Note(s): 2007-12-01
M.S.
Sciences, Department of Biology
Masters
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): fire
cleistogamy
Clitoria fragrans
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001950
Restrictions on Access: public
Host Institution: UCF

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