Ecological Distribution of Chlorophyllous Developing Embryos among Perennial Plants in a Tropical Deciduous Forest

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Abstract
A dry-season survey of the developing seeds of 74 spp. of Costa Rican deciduous forest perennial plants showed that the developing embryos of 55% of the species were highly chlorophyllous; these species had flat, strap-like or cylindrical fruits with seeds < 1 g mature weight, or had fully isolated spheroidal fruits with 4 or less small- to medium-sized seeds. The achlorophyllous seeds were in fruits with large seeds, fruits with many seeds packed in layers, or in fruits borne in locally shady habitats. The presence of a chlorophyllous developing embryo would seem to add significant complexity to the already-complex parasite-host relationship of the embryos that are developing in the fruit, in that fruit and seed-coat traits are evolutionarily affected by transmission of light to the embryo and a phytosynthetic embryo may be able to develop more independently of the parent than can an achlorophyllous embryo.

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