Morphological Plasticity of Hedysarum austrosibiricum B. Fedtsch (Fabaceae) Shoots under Different Ecological and Geographical Conditions

Abstract

Morphostructural features of aerial parts of shoots have been studied in endemic Hedysarum austrosibiricum B. Fedtsch growing at the altitude range of 1200–2350 m in the mountain areas of the Altai Republic (AR) and the Republic of Khakassia (RK). A complex of morphological traits adaptive to mountain conditions has been revealed in the studied species. A reliable trend to the reduction of a leaflet size in compound leaves and the number of inflorescences per shoot has been observed. Under mountain conditions, this species demonstrates a tendency to a significant productivity increase manifested via an increase in the caudex diameter and the number of shoots per plant. A low correlation between the values of most morphological traits related to plant growth and development may be considered an adaptive feature of the studied species.