Table 3 Life history traits for all the species observed during the experiments.
Feature | Lantana camara | Justicia adhatoda | Urtica dioica | Bauhinia variegata |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Life forms | Scrambling aromatic shrub | Small evergreen, sub-herbaceous shrub | Perennial herb | Medium sized tree |
Habit | Erect in the open and scrambling in scrubland, perennial | The plant grows in plains & lower Himalayan ranges | Extensive sympodial system of Rhizomes and stolon, rooting at the nodes | Distributed throughout India and avoids closed canopies |
Plant height | Usually up to 2 m but can grow to the height of 5 m | Upto 2.5. Can grow upto 3 m in height | Aerial Shoots (up to 1.5–2 m). Can attain 3 m or more height sometimes | It can grow up to 20–40 feet tall and attain canopy of 25–30 feet |
Stem | Woody squarish in cross-section and hairy when young. Becomes cylindrical upto 150 mm . Gets thick with age | Long Opposite yellowish , ascending branches | Herbaceous stems with four angles are typically erect, unbranched, and up to 6 feet tall. They are covered in stinging hairs | The inner bark is pinkish and fibrous, whereas the outside bark is scaly, smooth to slightly fissured, and brownish-grey |
Leaf shape | Ovate entire with serrate margin | Opposite, minutely pubescent | Heart-shaped opposing leaves with serrated margins and many stinging hairs resemble mint. Leaf base is cordate to rounded | Cow foot Shaped leaves |
Leaf arrangement | Opposite pairs at nodes all along the stems | Broadly lanceolate | Opposite | Bilobed and alternate |
Inflorescence and color of flowers | Axillary heads; flowers ranging in color from cream to yellow to orange, pink, purple and red | Dense, short pedunculate, spike, bracteates with long bracts | Axillary, spike like :four per node | Raceme, light pink to pale Purple |
Flowering period | September to May, flowers throughout the year subject to the availability of water | Early Sep–late Feb | August to September | September to November |
Flowers per plant | 20–40 flowers per head | 5–35 flowers per spike | 20–60 flowers per head | – |
Fruit | Fleshy drupe, 3–6 mm in diameter and containing, 1–2 seeds (12.5 mm long). Fruits mature rapidly and change color from dark green to black | Fruits are pubscent and club shaped capsules, longitudinally channelled | Fruits single seeded, Achenes small | Fruit is a dehiscent pod that is strap-shaped, 15 to 30 cm long, and contains a variety of flat seeds |
Variability in seed production | 12,000 seed per plant | After 2 years, flowering and fruiting become regular | 500–5000 seeds per shoot | After 2 years starts producing flowers |
Gestation period | January, May and November | In between March to December | September–November | April–August |
Feature | Broussonetia papyrifera | Pongamia pinnata | Pterospermum acerifolium | Aegle marmelos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Life forms | A deciduous tree. It has a wide, spreading crown | Fast-growing evergreen tree. Branchlets have light stipule scars and no hair | The evergreen tree has a crooked crown and dense, sharply ascending branches | Deciduous tree |
Habit | Large tree | Large tree | Large tree | Tree |
Plant height | Can reach a height of 15 m. , and under the right circumstances, it may even reach higher | It can reach 25 m (65 feet) or more | It can reach up to 30 m | 6–10 m |
Stem | Strong, spreading, brittle, covered in stipular scars, and with pubescent shoots when young. Contains a milky sap | Thin grey to greyish brown and yellow on the inside | The tree's bark is relatively soft and grey in colour. Small twigs have feathery tips and are often rusty-brown | The stem bark is shallowly wrinkled, bluish-grey, and 4–8 mm thick. Smooth bark |
Leaf shape | Alternate, unusual pinnately complex, hairless, 2 to 4 inches, evergreen | Hemispherical dark green leaves | Leaf edges are commonly dentate (toothed) or irregularly lobed | Alternate leaflets, single, or compound leaves |
Leaf arrangement | Oval to lobed to mitten-shaped, dull green, simple, alternate (occasionally opposite or whorled), serrate margins up to 8 inches long, rough on top and hairy below leaves | Imparipinnate, 15-25 cm; leaflets opposite, elliptic | The leaves upper side has a glabrescent texture and a dark green tint. Many of the leaves tend to droop downward, making the tree appear to be wilting | Deciduous, alternating, and either single or compound bearing, leaves. In compound leaves, the leaflets have 2 to 5 frivolously toothed, pointy, oval-ovate or ovate shapes |
Inflorescence and colour of flowers | The female flowers in the pistillate inflorescence are greenish, and their long styles trail behind them in a spherical head that is up to 2 cm broad Colour of the flower is Yellowish- White | Axillary racemes Colour of flowers is white to pink and purplish | Due to their outstanding fragrance and nocturnal behavior, the flowers draw moths for pollination. Flowers that are successfully pollinated generate a fruit in the shape of a tough capsule White flowers | Axillary and terminal inflorescences that are racemose or corymbose Colour of flower is greenish white |
Flowering period | Feb–March and July–August | March, April | May–August | June to August starting |
Fruit | Achenes that are 1–2 cm long and wide and dangle on long fleshy stalks make up the compound, shiny-reddish fruit | Numerous, elliptical, rigid, and woody indehiscent pods are the fruits | The fruit is quite rough and often has brown hairs on it. Fruits can mature for a longer time. When the capsule splits apart, many "winged seeds" are released | Fruits are red to orange, globose |
Variability in seed production | 540,000 seeds per kilogram | 0–30 seeds/kg | 12,000 seeds per kilogram | 300–400 fruits per year and 10–50 seeds from each fruit |
Gestation period | July–August | April–May | Sep–Dec | Oct–March |
