Plants intrudingLaretia acaulis(Umbelliferae), a high Andean cushion plant

✍ Scribed by M. C. Alliende; A. J. Hoffmann

• Book ID: 104618354
• Publisher: Springer Netherlands
• Year: 1985
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 384 KB
• Volume: 60
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1385-0237
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00039932

✦ Synopsis

Several plants invade the cushions of Laretia acaulis in the high Andean communities of central Chile.

Humus develops among the rosettes, and 42 different species settle on the cushions. Most of these species are also found outside the cushions. Semi-woody chamaephytes, hemicryptophytes and cryptophytes have a similar cover on both substrates, while the cover of woody chamaephytes and therophytes is smaller on the cushions. The diversity and cover of invading plants, which vary with altitude, result from interactions among the environmental conditions, cushion morphology and the surrounding vegetation. * This study is part of the Chilean contribution to the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, within the framework of the UNEP/UNESCO Andean Project (1105-77-01). ** Nomenclature is given in the Appendix. *** We thank M. T. K. Arroyo, C. Marticorena and O. Matthei, and the Herbaria of the Universidad Concepci6n and the Museo de Historia Natural, for help with identification of species.