CARBOHYDRATE PARTITIONING IN THE LEAVES OF BROMELIACEAE PERFORMING C-3 PHOTOSYNTHESIS OR CRASSULACEAN ACID METABOLISM

Carbohydrate accumulation was measured in the leaves of 11 species rep resenting the three subfamilies of Bromeliaceae. In the Tillandsioidea e the C-3 species Vriesea carinata Wawra accumulated starch and sucros e while the Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) species Tillandsia tric olor Schlechtendal & Chamisso accumulated mainly starch. In the Pitcai rnioideae the C-3 species Pitcairnia paniculata Ruiz & Pavon and two C AM species Dyckia sp, and Fosterella schidosperma Barker accumulated s ucrose but not starch. Of six CAM species in the Bromelioideae, three Cryptanthus zonatus (Visiani) Beer, Neoregalia spectabilis Moore and P ortea petropolitana Wawra accumulated starch but not soluble sugars wh ile three (Ananus comosus Linnaeus, Orthophytum vagans M.B. Foster and Nidularium bilbergioides Schultes filius) accumulated starch as well as soluble sugars. Carbohydrate accumulation patterns were similar for species within each subfamily in that the Pitcairnioideae species did not accumulate starch but accumulated sucrose while species from the Tillandsioideae and Bromelioideae all accumulated starch (some also ac cumulated soluble sugars). Carbohydrate accumulation patterns were not similar for C-3 species versus CAM species from the different subfami lies. These data suggest that variations in carbohydrate biochemistry resulting from different evolutionary histories have a greater influen ce on carbohydrate accumulation patterns in CAM bromeliads than the co nstraints of the CAM pathway itself.