A tropical epiphytic orchid uses a low-light interception strategy in a spatially heterogeneous light environment

What is it about?

Light is an important resource for plants. Some plants live in places where light availability is highly variable in space and time. A good example are epiphytic orchids, that live in forest canopies attached to tree branches. We have found that these plants have a leaf display that enhances the capture of light coming from above, a sign that light is scarce for them. Our finding is based on field data of leaf potential light capture in a natural population of 110 epiphytic orchids of the species Rodriguezia granadensis in Colombia.

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Why is it important?

This is important because the epiphyte way of life is thought to have evolved as an ‘escape’ from the deeply shaded understory experienced by their terrestrial ancestors. We show that, despite having more access to light than their hypothetical terrestrial ancestors, this epiphyte still needs to make an extra effort to capture as much light as possible.