An allozyme study of sexual and vegetative regeneration in Hieracium pilosella

Abstract

Allozyme markers were used to fingerprint clones of the grassland plant Hieracium pilosella L. and, by inference, to estimate the relative importance of sexual and vegetative reproduction in a population. Field studies in populations of clonal plant species have often reported negligible or absent recruitment from seed. In contrast, studies of genetic markers have found substantial clonal diversity in populations, suggesting recruitment of new genets into established populations. Our results showed that H. pilosella regenerates from seed both within and between dense clonal patches. Two sites differing in environmental conditions were sampled to investigate how the balance between seed-derived and stolon-derived recruitment changes with biotic and abiotic stress. In a relatively drought-prone site on a south-facing slope, the balance was shifted towards recruitment from seed, compared with a mesic site in which vegetative regeneration was more important.