Dynamic morphological plasticity in response to emergence timing in Abutilon theophrasti (Malvaceae)

Selections on emergence time might be conflicting, suggesting the existence of the optimal emergence time for plants. However, we know little about this and how morphological plasticity contributes to the strategies of plants in response to emergence timing. To better understand this issue in a dynamic perspective, we conducted a field experiment by subjecting plants of Abutilon theophrasti to four emergence treatments (ET1~ET4) and measuring a number of mass and morphological traits on them at different growth stages (I~IV). At day 50, 70 and/or final harvest, among all ET treatments, plants germinated in late spring (ET2) performed the best in total mass, spring germinants (ET1) and ET2 performed better in stem allocation, stem and root diameters than later germinants (ET3 and ET4); summer germinants (ET3) had the highest reproductive mass and allocation, while late-summer germinants (ET4) had the greatest leaf mass allocation, with greater or canalized leaf number and root length tra...