The effects of physical damage on seed production in flowering plants of Saponaria officinalis

Individual flowering ramets in a large riverbank stand of Saponaria officinalis, bouncingbet, were subjected to three damage treatments at anthesis: removal of most flowers, removal of all leaves, and bending of the stem just below the inflorescence. All seeds were collected from ripened capsules of treated plants as well as from a group shaded by a canopy of Convolvulus sepium and from an untreated control group. Seeds from the defloration …