Analysis of developmental preformation in the alpine herb Caltha leptosepala (Ranunculaceae)

Developmental preformation is ubiquitous among alpine and arctic tundra plant species and may cause a delay in plant morphological responses to environmental variation. The duration of preformation and seasonal pattern of development were examined in Caltha leptosepala to identify characteristics of architecture and development that may influence the timing of plant responses to environmental cues, both within a single growing season and between years. All structures in C. leptosepala are preformed: leaves are initiated one or two growing seasons before they mature and flowers are initiated one growing season before maturation. Features of development and architecture in C. leptosepala, however, appear to differ from the determinate growth patterns of other exclusively preforming species, and may allow within-season variability in the seasonal development and maturation of structures. Cohorts of leaves initiated are asynchronous with maturation cohorts, and each year the number of leaf primordia per plant at snowmelt exceeds the number to mature aboveground. Therefore, some flexibility in whether leaves complete a 2-yr or 3-yr developmental trajectory might occur. Plasticity in reproductive phenotype might also occur via the process of floral abortion. Despite developmental characteristics that might facilitate the expression of phenotypic plasticity, only slight variability was observed in the duration of preformation or in the seasonal pattern of initiation and emergence of structures. Growth patterns of C. leptosepala thus appear to be fundamentally constrained, and limitations to annual growth may assure that sufficient preformed primordia remain belowground at the end of each growing season for maturation of a full cohort during the subsequent season.