Vegetative reproduction in the juvenile phase of Ammophila breviligulata

Abstract
A. breviligulata Fern. was the dominant species with a density of 110-150 culms/m2 along Lake Erie shoreline at Rondeau Provincial Park [Ontario] Canada. In the juvenile phase the plants produced underground rhizones which grew plagiotropically to distances ranging from 129-389 cm from the parents and became orthotropic. The number of nodes on a primary rhizome ranged from 26-52 depending on rhizome lengths and each node bore 1 bud. A small proportion of these buds produced ramets but the rest remained dormant. A chi-square analysis of data showed that leafy shoots occurred in a nonrandom fashion always appearing on the distal end of a primary or secondary rhizome.