HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Tessier, J. T. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Tessier, J. T. Agricola Articles by Tessier, J. T.

Leaf longevity of Oxalis acetosella (Oxalidaceae) in the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA¹

Department of Biological Sciences, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, Connecticut 06053 USA

Leaf habit correlates with multiple physiological traits. Understanding ecophysiology is therefore dependent on knowledge of leaf habit. A variety of leaf habits exists within forest understory plant communities. Oxalis acetosella is one such understory plant and has long been considered a wintergreen, meaning that it keeps a set of leaves for one full year, replacing them with a new set during spring. To assess the leaf habit of O. acetosella and place it into a classification scheme of leaf habits, leaves of four populations of O. acetosella were repeatedly censused for two years in a northern hardwood forest of the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA. New leaves developed and old leaves senesced throughout the year, yielding a continual replacement of leaves and a summer peak in leaf number. Leaves that developed in the fall and winter had longer maximum life spans than leaves that developed during the summer. The name "seasonalgreen" is suggested to describe the continual development, senescence, and presence of leaves and annual peak in leaf number within O. acetosella. The functional significance of this leaf habit in this species and the possibility of its presence in other species deserve further study.

Key Words: Catskill Mountains • common wood sorrel • leaf habit • leaf longevity • northern hardwood forest • Oxalis acetosella • understory • wintergreen

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. T. Tessier and M. P. Bornn Old fronds serve as a vernal carbon source in the wintergreen fern Dryopteris intermedia (Aspleniaceae) Am. J. Botany, January 1, 2007; 94(1): 25 - 28. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]