PARENT SESSION
Poster Session 39: Late Breaking and Newsworthy Posters
Friday, August 12, 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM, Exhibit Hall 220 A-E, Level 2, Palais des congrès de Montréal

Evidence for direct water absorption by the shoot of the desiccation-tolerant plant Vellozia flavicans in the savannas of central Brazil.

Oliveira, Rafael^{*,1, 2}, Dawson, Todd¹, Burgess, Stephen^{1, 3}, ¹ Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA² Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Rod. Presidente Dutra, km 39, Cachoeira Paulista, SP, Brazil³ School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, Australia

ABSTRACT- Water uptake by aerial organs is a potentially important mechanism of water acquisition by terrestrial plants in environments prone to soil water deficits. Here, we carried out an investigation to determine if water can be directly absorbed by the pseudostem of Vellozia flavicans , a resurrection plant from the Brazilian Cerrado. We used the heat ratio sap flow method (HRM) to monitor water flow in the pseudostems of three individuals of V. flavicans between August 2002 and September 2003. During the first rainfall of 2002, which occurred after a five-month dry period, we observed reverses in stem sap flow or negative sap flow values. Such a pattern indicates absorption of water by the crown. The uptake of water by aerial parts may be advantageous for Vellozia and other species like it, because it may help reduce water stress, which in turn, can influence the survival and persistence of these plants in water-limiting environments.

Key words: Cerrado, Water uptake, resurrection plants, Vellozia