Kaszab Zoltán (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 75. (Budapest 1983)

Kováts, D.: Distribution of internode lengths of two Lithospermum species (Boraginaceae)

Fig. 1. Number of stoloniferous and flowering shoots, in the whole measured material graphs have been drawn without the real length measurements of internodes. The method is the following: every one internode length is compared to the length of the previous internode, if there is any increase in length, those areas of internode are given black sign, if there is any decrease in length those areas of internode remain white, if there is no change in length, an X symbol is entered in the graph. This graphical method is known from the literature of xylotomy (STIEBER 1967, KOVÁTS 1970). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Number and distribution of the two kind of shoots of Lithospermum purpureo-coeruleum L. The life form of Lithospermum purpureo-coeruleum L. is cryptophyton (geophyton) under Hungary's climate and not hemicryptophyton as it is known from the literature (Soó & KÁRPÁTI 1963, Soó 1968). From its perennial rhizome several shoots growing yearly, part of these are stoloniferous shoots (without flowers and nutlets). This kind of shoots are elongated so extensively by the autumn that they become recumbent and take to roots. By the next spring, these long stoloniferous shoots are separated from their original rhizomes and in this way they become new independent individuals. According to my observations made so far, this species spreads probably only in this vegetative way under Hungary's temperate climate, but in spite of it produces numerous seeds every years. The other part of the shoots, which grow from the rhizomes in spring, are normal flowering shoots, with flowers and later nutlets (KOVÁTS 1973). The leaves are lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate on both kind of shoots. The leaf arrangements are alternate, in most of the cases 2/5. The distribution of these two kinds of shoots are different, not only as regards the kind of shoots in the whole material altogether, but also as regards individual specimens. In most of the cases in general there may be found one stoloniferous shoot or one flowering shoot, consequently, most of the Lithospermum purpureo-coeruleum L. specimens have either one stoloniferous shoot or one flowering shoot. Two or thre shoots of one specimen are much rare and four, five or six shoots are especially rare (Fig. 1). In other words, the number of shoots are few in most of the Lithospermum purpureo-coeruleum L. specimens, those having