MORPHOLOGY OF BITTER SWEET (SOLANUM-DULCAMARA L) IN CONTRASTING MARSHHABITATS

In this paper we studied the morphology of bitter sweet (Solanum dulca mara L.) in four casting marsh habitats to assess the degree of intras pecific variation in above-ground vegetative features. Mean leaf area, total leaf mass, total leaf mass, and stem weight were shown to refle ct habitat impact rather than plant age and can thus be proposed for s ubtle habitat characterisation. Variation in mean leaf area among popu lations was found to exceed that within population suggesting local di fferentiation. In overall morphology three distinct types were establi shed. These represent different growth habits which appear to be deter mined primarily by the physiognomy of the host plant assemblage. These results necessitate further explanations by following investigations, especially those to evaluate the degree of genotypical fixation of th e morphological differences observed in Solanum dulcamara.