Sexual Dimorphism in a Temperate Dioecious Tree, Ilex montana (Aquifoliaceae)

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Elizabeth P. Lacey, Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: A study of a population of Ilex montana mountain winterberry showed a strongly skewed age distribution with few individuals reaching reproductive maturity. Sexual differences of the reproductive adults were manifested in several ways. The tertiary sex ratio of 436 trees was significantly male-biased; males produced more flowers per tree than did females, and there was a slight spatial segregation between males and females. However, males and females did not differ in estimated age and size distributions, nor did the proportion of males vary with density. The data suggest that females flower less often than do males and that microenvironmental variation influences the spatial patterning of sexes within populations of this temperate dioe- cious tree.

Additional Information

Publication
American Midland Naturalist 115(2): 397-406.
Language: English
Date: 1986
Keywords
Shrub, Mountain winterberry, Ilex montana, Age distribution, Reproductive maturity, Sex differences, Flowers

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