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Shade-tolerant flowering plants in the Southern African flora : morphology, adaptions and horticultural application

Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 1998.

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Other Authors: Van Wyk, Abraham Erasmus (Braam)
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2022
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Van Wyk, Abraham Erasmus (Braam)
author_browse Van Wyk, Abraham Erasmus (Braam)
author_facet Van Wyk, Abraham Erasmus (Braam)
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2021 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 1998.
format Thesis
id oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/83265
institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:37:40.523Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2022
publishDateRange 2022
publishDateSort 2022
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/83265 Shade-tolerant flowering plants in the Southern African flora : morphology, adaptions and horticultural application Van Wyk, Abraham Erasmus (Braam) Middelton, Lorraine UCTD Shade-tolerant flowering plants Southern African flora morphology adaptions horticultural application Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 1998. Shade plants (sciophytes) may be regarded as stress-tolerant and are classified either as obligate or facultative. Most southern African sciophytes are facultative. Two broad adaptive strategies are employed by shade plants. Optimal use is made of available energy and energy is conserved. Climatic, topographical and ecological factors are inseperable from the presence of shade. Temperature, humidity and nutrient status may even play a more important role in plant adaptation than the presence of shade. There are 1105 plants listed in the database. As might be expected of forest undergrowth in general, many southern African sciophytes are herbaceous perennials. This group forms 23% of the total number. Equivalent in represententatives, are the xerophytic plants (succulents) also 23%. These two groups together thus forms 43% of the shade plants. The second largest group are the woody plants which in total makes up 30% if the shrubs, trees and climbers are combined. The third largest group are the geophytic (bulbous) plants and forms 14% of the shade plants. All other groups make up less than 5% of the total. Many of the attributes encountered in sciophytes occurring in tropical rainforests are also found in the drier, southern African climate. The red undersurface of leaves which has hitherto only been described in herbaceous species, is described here in succulent, southern African sciophytes. The literature relating to anatomical and physiological adaptations of sciophytes is surveyed and discussed. Of particular interest is the phenomenon of sunflecks. Morphological adaptions include heart-shaped leaves, or variations thereof. The arrangements of stems and leaves to maximize the use of available light are architectural adaptations that are also discussed. Sciophytes practice many conservative reproductive strategies. Small and inconspicuous flowers are the norm. Where flowering in the shade does indeed occur, reproductive structures are adapted to local pollinating agents. Hybridisation of both herbaceous and succulent sciophytes is a common, natural phenomenon. Throughout the description of the adaptations, the applications thereof in horticultural terms have been highlighted where possible. The application is printed in bold letters directly following the adaptation described in the text. The practical side of shade gardening is discussed, highlighting and describing several southern African plants from different growth groups and situations. A database has been compiled, listing the southern African shade plants. As much as possible information on each plant concerning the names, distribution, description, uses, growth requirements and other additional general information has been made available in this database. Pre-selected combinations are printed out, for instance plants for specific horticultural uses or certain climatic conditions. Any other selected fields can be retrieved by the user according to his needs and choice directly from the database. The database should also be updated and supplemented with new information on each plant, as well as adding new plants. Plant Science MSc Unrestricted 2022-01-12T06:01:01Z 2022-01-12T06:01:01Z 19/8/2021 1998 Dissertation * http://hdl.handle.net/2263/83265 en © 2021 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Shade-tolerant flowering plants
Southern African flora
morphology
adaptions
horticultural application
Shade-tolerant flowering plants in the Southern African flora : morphology, adaptions and horticultural application
title Shade-tolerant flowering plants in the Southern African flora : morphology, adaptions and horticultural application
title_full Shade-tolerant flowering plants in the Southern African flora : morphology, adaptions and horticultural application
title_fullStr Shade-tolerant flowering plants in the Southern African flora : morphology, adaptions and horticultural application
title_full_unstemmed Shade-tolerant flowering plants in the Southern African flora : morphology, adaptions and horticultural application
title_short Shade-tolerant flowering plants in the Southern African flora : morphology, adaptions and horticultural application
title_sort shade tolerant flowering plants in the southern african flora morphology adaptions and horticultural application
topic UCTD
Shade-tolerant flowering plants
Southern African flora
morphology
adaptions
horticultural application
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/83265