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* Premise of the study: Current reproduction in polycarpic plants may be affected by a wide variety of factors, including carryover or 'historical' effects derived from environments experienced early in life and from previous investments in organ preformation or other life functions, such as growth or reproduction. Historical effects as determinants of plant reproductive success in a specific season have received considerably less attention than events during the current reproductive episode, especially for short-lived plants. * Methods: We used structural equation modeling to assess direct and indirect relations between past reproduction and both subsequent reproduction and growth in Helianthemum squamatum, a short-lived polycarpic plant. Additionally, we explored the effects of current reproduction on future survival (binomial variable) by using logistic regression. * Key results: Historical effects derived from previous growth positively affected current reproduction, suggesting the existence of a reproductive hierarchy in the population, in which some individuals are consistently better growers and seeders. The lack of effects of current reproduction on future reproduction, together with the existence of a negative effect on future survival, suggests that to invest maximally in reproduction at the expense of a short life span may be the optimal strategy for H. squamatum, a species inhabiting very unpredictable ecosystems. * Conclusions: Historical effects derived from past investments in growth or reproduction may have important consequences for current plant performance and may play an essential role in shaping life histories. Key words: Cistaceae; Helianthemum squamatum; Mediterranean; reproductive hierarchy; reproductive lifetime; semiarid; structural equation modeling. doi: 10.3732/ajb.1000072

Current understanding of the extent, causes for, and consequences of variation in nutrient composition in plants is limited. Important questions to be addressed include to what extent nutrients covary, how flexible nutrient ratios are within a population or species, how reproduction influences nutrient ratios, and how much the ratios of nutrients to mass and nutrients to each other change through ontogeny. This information is needed to assess the physiological and ecological consequences of plant nutrient composition and to what extent plants function as balanced systems in acquisition and allocation of resources. We studied the variation in nutrient stoichiometry (i.e., the ratio between contents of different nutrients within a plant) in relation to three factors: (1) environmental availability of nitrogen, (2) plant size, and (3) reproductive status. We investigated these questions in 11 populations of the carnivorous plant Pinguicula vulgaris in northern Scandinavia. Dry mass and N and P content were measured for reproductive and vegetative portions of flowering individuals and for winter buds corresponding to four reproductive states: control reproductive individuals, experimentally vegetative individuals (from which flower buds were removed), adult vegetative individuals, and individuals below the threshold size for reproduction. [N], [P], and to a lesser extent, N and P content were positively related to soil N, but not to prey capture. Nutrient stoichiometry was also size dependent; in general, small plants were relatively enriched in N and relatively depleted in P compared to larger plants. Reproductive status affected not only size, but also nutrient stoichiometry of the resulting winter bud. Winter buds derived from reproductive individuals had a higher [N] and lower [P] than those of the different types of nonreproductive individuals. Our findings indicate that studies of nutrient stoichiometry in plants must go beyond links between environmental and plant nutrient concentrations to consider internal processes such as growth and reproduction. Key words: carnivorous plant; Pinguicula vulgaris; plant nutrient stoichiornetry; plant size; reproductive status; Scandinavia; size dependence; soil nutrient availability.

The occurrence of masting in Buxus balearica, the variability in fruit production both at individual and population level and the flowering and fruiting patterns are assessed. The results have shown that although a limited time series allows considering B. balearica as showing putative masting, weather and pollination-related processes are good candidates for further exploration of fruiting patterns and processes at a large spatial scale.

The between-population variation in size-dependent fitness components in Pinguicula vulgaris is investigated. The relation of the variation in size-dependent fitness components to specific environmental variables and somatic costs of reproduction (SCR) is examined.

We studied the relative role of inflorescence traits, flowering synchrony, and pollination context for infructescence and fruit initiation in two Spanish populations of Arum italicum, a species in which inflorescences are the pollination unit. In this species, a specialized inflorescence organ, the appendix, is important for pollinator attraction. However, the short floral longevity and the production of mostly one inflorescence per plant make its pollination potentially dependent on strong flowering synchrony and on external factors not controlled by the plant (the pollination context). The flowering period in both sites lasted >3 mo. Day-to-day variation in simultaneous antheses was high, and 11-50% of antheses occurred on days during which no pollen donor was present. Inflorescence traits, flowering synchrony, and between-plant distance all influenced infructescence and fruit initiation, but their relative importance differed between sites. In one large population, infructescence initiation was positively related to inflorescence traits; in a smaller population infructescence initiation increased with the number of donor inflorescences. In both sites, percentage of fruits initiated per infructescence was dependent on a combination of inflorescence traits, flowering synchrony, and between-plant distance. Plants producing 2-4 inflorescences had higher probability of infructescence initiation and overlapped their antheses with more plants than single-inflorescence ones. Key words: Araceae; Arum italicum; between-plant distance; floral display; flowering dynamics; flowering synchrony; inflorescence number; pollination context.

Sex allocation models predict that cosexuality is stabilized by high allocation to attractive structures in pollen-limited species or by high allocation to shared structures that contribute to both genders. High investment in unilateral fixed costs favor the evolution of dioecy or gender change. With these predictions in mind, I studied sexual mass allocation at flowering in the monoecious Arum italicum (Araceae) and compared it with information available for its sex labile relative Arisaema dracontium. In A. italicum, 68% of biomass was allocated to structures believed to be involved in pollinator attraction and capture. This allocation pattern contrasts with that of Arisaema dracontium, in which 70% of biomass was allocated to scape, considered to be a unilateral fixed cost. The importance of attractive structures in A. italicum was further supported by a disproportionate increased allocation, in larger inflorescences, to the appendix (an attractive structure) compared to fertile flowers. In addition, an increase in inflorescence mass involved a disproportionate increase in mass allocation to male, rather than female, flowers. This pattern also contrasts with a size-related gender change from male to female in Arisaema species. These findings were consistent with sex allocation model predictions and shed light on the evolution of sex lability in Arisaema species. Key words: accessory structures; allometry; Araceae; Arisaema; Arum italicum; sexual allocation; sexual lability.