Abstract:

Variation in morphology and growth of seedlings of the climbing plant, Gynostemma pentaphyllum was examined in response to a light intensity gradient artificially created using plastic shade web. This revealed that G. pentaphyllum seedlings show a high level of plasticity in both morphology and growth in response to varying light environments: 1} relative growth rate, net assimilation rate, and total biomass decreased with decreasing light resource, while total leaf area, specific stem length, shoot height, branching angle, leaf area ratio, and specific leaf area increased with decreasing light; 2) relative growth rate declined with increasing plant size; 3) variation in light had no significant effects on biomass allocation. The increased specific stem length and shoot height observed across decreasing light intensities may enhance the likelihood that G. pentaphyllum seedlings will encounter external supports.

Key words: Climbing plant, Gynostemma pentaphyllum seedlings, Light intensity gradient, Morphological response