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Female fertility per flower and trade-offs between size and number in Claytonia virginica (Portulacaceae)¹

^a Department of Botany, Department of Genetics and Cell Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-4238

A consistent and paradoxical feature in flowering plants is the production of many more flowers than appear required for female fertility through fruit and seed production. Many mechanistic hypotheses for this observation share key assumptions about (1) limited resources available for reproduction and (b) greater female fertility benefits from larger flowering-time investment. Here I investigate these assumptions in two populations of Claytonia virginica. I also test predictions from theoretical analyses, comparing patterns of flowering allocation and fertility per flower in 18 populations of C. virginica. Results support the assumption that larger benefits accrue from greater flowering-time investment. The between-population pattern of flowering allocation and fertility per flower is also consistent with theoretical expectation, although not statistically significant. Not supported is the assumption that reproduction occurs under strong resource constraint. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.

Key Words: Claytonia virginica • fertility per flower • Portulacaceae • resource allocation • size and number trade-off

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