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Crassulacean Acid Metabolism in the Genus Kalanchoë: Ecological, Physiological and Biochemical Aspects

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Crassulacean Acid Metabolism

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 114))

Abstract

Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) was first described in a Kalanchoë 3 species (K. pinnata Pers. = Bryophyllum calycinum Salisb.; for a review see Kluge and Ting 1978). Moreover, many of the fundamental insights into the biochemistry and physiology of CAM have derived from studies conducted on species of this genus. Certain species of Kalanchoë, such as K. daigremontiana Hamet et Perr., K. fedtschenkoi Hamet et Perr. and K. tubiflora Hamet have been studied so intensively that they have formed the basis for many generalizations on the mechanisms and ecological significance of CAM.

“..It would be more accurate to regard the Kalanchoës as plants poorly equipped to struggle against other species, but which are very adaptable as regards the physical conditions of their environment individualistic and independent, they only subsist in hostile places for which no other plants would vie with them. It matters little to them if this hostility is due to a lack of water, a lack of humus, to elevation, or to the nature of the soil which does not hold together and erodes with the rain When planted in a garden, they easily overtake the paths and the neighbouring flower-beds, but seldom make it over fences. This is because there is grass on the other side, against which they are helpless”.

P. Boiteau (extract from an unpublished manuscript on the genus Kalanchoë, translated by R. Greenberg)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Botanik, Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 10, D-64287, Darmstadt, Germany

    M. Kluge

  2. Laboratoire de Biochimie Fonctionelle des Membranes Végétales, CNRS, F-91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

    J. Brulfert

Authors
  1. M. Kluge
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  2. J. Brulfert
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, P.O. Box 2072, Balboa, Republic of Panama

    Klaus Winter

  2. Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK

    J. Andrew C. Smith

  3. Magdalen College, Oxford, OX1 4AU, UK

    J. Andrew C. Smith

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© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Kluge, M., Brulfert, J. (1996). Crassulacean Acid Metabolism in the Genus Kalanchoë: Ecological, Physiological and Biochemical Aspects. In: Winter, K., Smith, J.A.C. (eds) Crassulacean Acid Metabolism. Ecological Studies, vol 114. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-79060-7_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-79060-7_22

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-79062-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-79060-7

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