SCIRPUS OLNEYI (CyperaCeae) SHOWS pHeNOTypICaL DIFFereNTIaTION IN a SaLT MarSH ON THe eaST COaST OF THe U.S.a

The clonal plant Scirpus olneyi A. Gray, which grows in salt marshes, shows different growth forms. This species has two types of ramets; a ramet with a long rhizome and a ramet without or with a very short rhizome. In different communities this species shows different ramet architectures in combinations of the two types of ramets. To describe ramet architecture, growth forms, life history strategies and the features of different environmental communities, we conducted a field survey in a salt marsh at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the United States. We recognized six different types of communities present in different environments and found that S. olneyi showed various growth forms and propagation patterns among these communities. Plants produced short spacer ramets in patches where plants achieved high biomass and seed production, and long spacer ramets in patches where plants achieved low biomass and seed production. This result suggests that this plant can retain favorable patches with shorter spacer ramets, and can escape from unfavorable patches with longer spacer ramets.