Photosynthetic ecology of normal and variegated Aegopodium podagraria

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Abstract
Aegopodium podagraria, widely cultivated in a variegated form, occasionally gives rise to normal (non-variegated) plants which are comparatively vigorous, exhibiting marked weedy tendencies. Net photosynthetic rates and chlorophyll contents were determined for two populations of normal plants and three populations of variegated plants grown separately under full sunlight, and in shade. None of the populations grown in full sunlight differed significantly from each other in rate of photosynthesis on a leaf area basis, despite the mean 83.5% higher chlorophyll content of normal leaves. However, when grown in shade, on a leaf area basis normal plants averaged 50.1% higher rates of photosynthesis, and 73.5% higher content of chlorophyll, and the leaves were 27.4% heavier than the leaves of variegated plants. These differences apparently are responsible for the competitive advantage of normal plants in the usually shady habitat of A. podagraria.

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