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Allometry of axis length, diameter, and taper in the devil's walking stick (Aralia spinosa; Araliaceae)¹

^a Department of Biological Sciences, Henson School of Science and Technology, Salisbury State University, Salisbury, Maryland 21801

The allometry of axis length, diameter, and taper is described for the trunk, rachis, and rachilla of nonbranching ramets of Aralia spinosa. Significant log-linear relationships were found between length and diameter for all axis categories, and in all cases, scaling was negatively allometric. Linear models best described the relationship between length and diameter for the rachis and rachilla, while a quadratic model best described this relationship for the trunk. During the trunk-building stage, the safety factors for trunk height were size dependent, with larger trunks exceeding their predicted critical buckling height. Taper was described by a linear relationship between diameter and position along the axis for all axis categories. All rachises and rachillas sampled exhibited taper along the length of the axis, however, only 51% of the trunks showed continuous taper. The trunk was less tapered than the rachis, but no differences in taper were found between the trunk and the rachilla, or the rachis and the rachilla. In unbranched ramets the large bipinnately compound leaves occupy the space normally occupied by lateral branches. We suggest that the rachis and rachilla are functionally equivalent to branches, that is, acting as axes of exploration and exploitation of the environment.

Key Words: allometry • Aralia spinosa • Araliaceae • critical buckling height • pinnately compound leaf • taper

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				C. H. Briand, S. M. Campion, D. A. Dzambo, and K. A. Wilson Biomechanical properties of the trunk of the devil's walking stick (Aralia spinosa; Araliaceae) during the crown-building phase: implications for tree architecture Am. J. Botany, December 1, 1999; 86(12): 1677 - 1682. [Abstract] [Full Text]