6533b870fe1ef96bd12d045d

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Biometrical and ecological observations on Cistus salvifolius L.

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description

Abstract Biometrical observations on Cistus salvifolius L. (Cistaceae), a species with a very variable morphology, are presented: data, collected in Sicily, are relative to three environments in which populations of Cistus salvifolius live: garigue, maquis, pinewood. Measurements are compared with other ones, found in the literature, and in some cases they disagree or supply useful indications. On the basis of the different light regimes in the three environments, and of the parameters in which the difference among the three populations is most evident, some observations about the reaction to shade in Cistus salvifolius were made. On the basis of the few data collected, the intraspecific differences were given a possible explanation with the light factor: these differences are relative to morphological parameters such as leaf area, petiole length, stem length, and also to “derived” parameters such as specific leaf area and petiole length/leaf length ratio.