Plant reproductive strategies and resource allocation

A major theme in plant evolutionary ecology concerns the allocation of resources to fitness-enhancing activities. Patterns of allocation have been regarded as reflecting evolved reproductive strategies. Here I review recent studies that focus on problems of resource allocation. These studies concern resource currencies, plant ontogeny and bud dynamics, reproductive costs, and clonal growth. While there is a certain amount of tension between the descriptive utility and the evolutionary validity of the reproductive strategy concept, the idea of strategy remains a robust one.