Meeting Abstract

S4.1  Monday, Jan. 4  How do climbing plants climb? ROWE, N.P.; CNRS, Univ Montpellier, France nrowe@cirad.fr

Climbing plants have fascinated biologists since the pioneering works of Charles Darwin and his contemporaries. One of the most noticeable aspects of climbing plant diversity is the range of attachment organs that have evolved to initiate attachment and maintain mechanical contact with host supports. Climbing plants are common in tropical rain forest ecosystems where they show many kinds of attachment; these appear to be functionally linked to particular growth strategies and mechanical organisations of the stem and branch system. Many species exhibit a “search and attach” strategy in early development, requiring mechanical traits that combine (a) spanning gaps between hosts and (b) securing an attachment. These initial stages are generally followed by developmental mechanisms that increase flexibility and failure resistance of the mature climbing stems. Comparative studies indicate that these overall patterns vary widely and depend on the kind of attachment mechanism: for example, species that attach rapidly and securely via twining stems develop flexibility sooner than species that attach via hooks. Such differences can influence the exact mode of climbing and the kinds of habitat and host preference of different climbing species. Phylogenetic and developmental constraints profoundly influence how stiffness, attachment and flexibility are achieved in climbing plants. Highly divergent clades among dicots and monocots have evolved these mechanical prerequisites via different combinations of traits and developmental plans. An understanding of the mechanical traits and the evolutionary processes that have shaped them, offer the chance to understand the diversity and origins of some of the most spectacular and bizarre growth forms in the plant world.