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Organized Oral Session

Hybrid Session

Session: : Tropical Plant Physiological Ecology and Responses to Environmental Changes

OOS 45-3 - Physiological traits associated with the Cenozoic evolution of terrestrial and epiphytic tropical ferns

Wednesday, August 9, 2023
2:00 PM – 2:15 PM PDT
Location: 255
The Cretaceous expansion of angiosperm-dominated tropical forests created abundant habitat space in the canopy. This niche is difficult, however, and the epiphytic plants that occupy branches and tree trunks must contend with sunnier, nutrient-poor and often drier conditions. Despite these challenges, several plant lineages, including orchids and bromeliads, adapted to the epiphytic niche during the Cenozoic by evolving water-absorbing roots, high leaf capacitance and the ability to store water in rosette water tanks. Interestingly, ferns also speciated and radiated into the canopy, although the physiological means by which this was achieved is not fully understood. Ferns are developmentally and physiologically canalized relative to angiosperms raising the question of what the key trade-offs may have been to support their climb to the canopy. My talk will examine the water relations, and xylem structure-function of these seedless vascular plants through the prism of evolution, using this opportunity to discuss the value of losing some traits, gaining others, and the nebulous in-between. There is much that the fern morphospace can reveal about the adaptive priorities of all plants contending with stressful habitats.