The importance of sexual, asexual and mixed ramet clusters in production of descendant ramets in populations of Solidago ×niederederi (Asteraceae)

Abstract

AbstractIn this study, we focused on the potential production of descendant ramets in sexual, asexual, and mixed ramet clusters of Solidago ×niederederi Khek (Asteraceae), a natural hybrid between the North American S. canadensis and the European S. virgaurea. We selected eight populations of the hybrid occurring in southern Poland. The ANOVA results proved the significant effect of cluster type and population on the number of descendant ramets in sexual, asexual, and mixed ramet clusters. The post-hoc Tukey test showed that the number of descendant ramets in sexual and mixed ramet clusters differs significantly (p < 0.001). The number of descendant ramets was positively correlated with the number of maternal ramets in sexual, asexual, and mixed ramet clusters, reaching the coefficient values of 0.78, 0.64, and 0.82, respectively. Moreover, the number of descendant ramets was positively correlated with the height of maternal ramets in mixed ramet clusters, reaching the coefficient value of 0.25. The post-hoc Tukey test revealed the significant differences between the height of ramets originating from sexual and asexual ramet clusters (p < 0.001). Our results complemented the current state of knowledge and brought evidence that the number of descendant ramets might be influenced by a type of ramet cluster.