Biomass

Hello All!

It has been an exciting and busy two weeks here in the Lab. I have been weighing the collected biomass of four species of California wildflowers (Lasthenia californica, Layia platyglossa, Collinsia heterophylla, and Phacelia tanacetifolia) to assess their reproductive fitness. A poster (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRo2z_u-9EE) completed this past summer by Keyzamar Román found that, at least for Lasthenia, fruit production is highest in heads produced early in the growing season where seed set is highest later in the growing season. I am curious to discover if the biomass follows a similar trend or whether it remains consistent after the plant has reached maturity. I hope to have a complete data set soon and, in that effort, I have since increased my samples per hour weighed from a rookie 15 to a meaty 25.