1. Is Any Angiosperm an Obligate Halophyte?
- Author
-
Michael G. Barbour
- Subjects
geography ,Facultative ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Obligate ,Ecology ,Range (biology) ,Biology ,Salinity ,Habitat ,Halophyte ,Salt marsh ,Botany ,Mangrove ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics - Abstract
The categories glycophyte, intolerant halophyte, faculta- tive halophyte, and obligate halophyte were defined in relative terms. An obligate halophyte was defined as a plant with optimal growth at moderate or high salinity and incapable of growth at low salinity. A selective literature review summarized field and laboratory evidence con- cerning salt-tolerance limits for marine angiosperms, mangroves, and plants of coastal strand, salt desert, and salt marsh. Extensive field observations, corroborated by several workers, were considered very strong, but not conclusive, evidence in defining tolerance limits of species. Even from field observations, however, very few species appeared to be restricted to salinities above 0.5%. Laboratory techniques were not consistent and seldom approximated natural conditions. Neverthe- less, no laboratory-based evidence was found which definitely showed any angiosperm to be an obligate halophyte, although some were shown to be facultative. Ability to reproduce, rather than short-term growth, Reviews by Uphof (1941), Chapman (1960), and Bernstein (1962) cover aspects of geographic distribution, taxonomic relationships, ecol- ogy, and physiology of halophytes. This paper examines only the litera- ture dealing with the range of salt tolerance of angiosperms from several habitats. The term halophyte, alone or coupled with a number of modifiers, has been defined in several contradictory ways. Some of these defini- tions will be reviewed here, and a single set of terms and definitions to be used as a basis for the rest of the paper will be presented. Schimper (1903) defined a halophyte as a plant which lived normally in saline habitats, but which could ". . . thrive on ordinary soil, for instance on garden-soil, without any addition of common salt." Schimper did not define a saline habitat, but his discussion implied it to be one with more than 2% NaCl. Warming (1909) similarly avoided implying that halophytes were restricted to saline habitats. Stocker (1928) defined halophyte and saline habitat more precisely: a normal glycophyte (non-halophyte) is able to tolerate up to 0.5% NaCl and a halophyte is able to tolerate, at any stage of its life, a salt concentration greater than 0.5%.
- Published
- 1970