Photosynthetica 2009, 47(3):445 | DOI: 10.1007/s11099-009-0068-6

The relationship between CAM and leaf succulence in two epiphytic vines, Hoya carnosa and Dischidia formosana (Asclepiadaceae), in a subtropical rainforest in northeastern Taiwan

C. E. Martin1,2, R. C. C. Hsu1,2, T. C. Lin3,*
1 Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan)
2 Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA
3 Department of Life Science, Taiwan National Normal University, Section 4, Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan)

Past reports of correlations between Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) and leaf succulence are based on multi-species comparisons. When different individuals of the same species were compared in two epiphytic CAM vines growing in a subtropical rainforest in northeastern Taiwan, the degree of CAM was not correlated with leaf thickness, a measure of succulence. Leaf chlorophyll (Chl) a and b concentrations and ratios correlated well with leaf succulence, indicating that differences in leaf succulence were likely a result of sun/shade adaptations, not photosynthetic pathway. These findings challenge the assumption that CAM-succulence correlations are causal.

Additional key words: chlorophyll; Crassulacean acid metabolism; leaf thickness; sun, shade adaptation; titratable acidity

Received: November 27, 2008; Accepted: September 15, 2009; Published: September 1, 2009  Show citation

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Martin, C.E., Hsu, R.C.C., & Lin, T.C. (2009). The relationship between CAM and leaf succulence in two epiphytic vines, Hoya carnosa and Dischidia formosana (Asclepiadaceae), in a subtropical rainforest in northeastern Taiwan. Photosynthetica, 47(3), 445. doi: 10.1007/s11099-009-0068-6
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