The role of lignotubers (basal burls) in the stress recovery of messmate stringybark, Eucalyptus obliqua L'Herit. seedlings and its arboricultural implications

Abstract

Dormant buds such as lignotuberous and epicormic buds are adaptations possessed by plants growing in stressful environments. Eucalyptus obliqua is a species occupying a wide range of habitats in south-eastern Australia, which displays ecotypic diversity. Seedlings of E. obliqua from provenances with and without lignotubers were subject to heat stress at 40-100°C for durations ranging from 2 to 128 min. Seedlings from a single population were also stressed by decapitation, which left two, four or eight leaves intact. While the upper stems and leaves of the heated seedlings from different provenances reacted in the same way to the treatments imposed, seedlings that lacked lignotubers died at l..