The chilling tolerance of black mangrove, Avicennia germinans, from the Gulf of Mexico coast of Texas, Louisiana and Florida.
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Abstract
Seedling populations of Avicennia germinans (L.) L. from the Gulf of Mexico coast of Texas, Louisiana and Florida showed various amounts of physiological dysfunction and injury after exposure to chilling temperatures of 2-3 C. Although all of the plants had greater chill tolerance than has been shown for plants of more tropical origin in the Gulf-Caribbean, those of Texas were more tolerant to extended chilling conditions than those of Louisiana and Florida. Populations from diverse sites in Texas from the northernmost distribution at Galveston Island to the Rio Grande were not strongly differentiated in chilling tolerances. The recurrent pattern of low winter temperature in the northern Gulf of Mexico has selected chilling tolerant populations, but those of the western side show the least physiological dysfunction and injury from chilling temperatures.