Data from: Leaf hydraulics of herbaceous and woody species of Piperales and its correlation to photosynthesis

Piperales are basal angiosperms and consist of both woody and herbaceous species. Although functional traits related to resource acquisition and drought tolerance strategies are known to differ between woody and herbaceous species more broadly, specific leaf hydraulic trait and photosynthetic rates differences remain unclear in basal angiosperms. In this study, we measured 11 traits related to leaf hydraulics and photosynthesis across six woody and five herbaceous Piperales species. Leaf vein length per area and photosynthetic rate of the species studied were in the low range of angiosperms. No significant differences in leaf hydraulic conductance or photosynthetic rate were found between herbaceous and woody species, although woody species had higher leaf density, vein length per area, and stomatal density. Structural equation modeling (piecewiseSEM) indicated that leaf photosynthetic rate was indirectly associated with leaf hydraulic conductance via stomatal conductance, and directly associated with the water potential at turgor loss point. Our results revealed that woody Piperales species tended to have higher leaf investment and leaf hydraulics, while herbaceous species were on the opposite side. Leaf photosynthetic rate was enhanced through increasing stomatal conductance resulting from increasing leaf hydraulic conductance. Our study provides new insights into the evolution of hydraulic traits and their effect on photosynthesis in basal angiosperms.Mean values and standard errors(errors) are shown in the table.