Survivorship after flowering and flowering synchronicity of three cultivated Strobilanthes flexicaulis individuals from Iriomote Island, Japan

A study on Strobilanthes flexicaulis, a monocarpic perennial plant from Iriomote Island, Japan, reveals that cultivation may alter its reproductive traits, shifting it toward polycarpy. The research observed three cultivated individuals, finding synchronized flowering initiation but variable termination among them and between treatments involving disbudding (flower bud removal). While disbudding did not affect survivorship, individual variation in reproductive traits suggests an intermediate evolutionary state between polycarpic perennials and periodical mass-flowering plants. This study sheds light on how cultivation influences the reproductive strategies of this species.

Furumoto, R. (2020). Survivorship after flowering and flowering synchronicity of three cultivated Strobilanthes flexicaulis individuals from Iriomote Island, Japan. Plant Species Biology, 36(1), 119–125. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1111/1442-1984.12289