How do leaf anatomies and photosynthesis of three Rhododendron species relate to their natural environments?

Botanical Studies

Table 3 Leaf gas exchange parameters (Mean ± SE) of three Rhododendron species

Parameters	*R. yunnanense*	*R. irroratum*	*R. delavayi*
A_max (μmol m⁻² s⁻¹)	9.00 ± 0.38b	11.19 ± 0.99a	11.90 ± 0.19a
LCP (μmol m⁻² s⁻¹)	5.16 ± 0.63b	8.67 ± 1.10a	10.84 ± 0.69a
LSP (μmol m⁻² s⁻¹)	509.55 ± 60.15b	643.68 ± 70.34a	665.37 ± 8.19a
R_d (μmol m⁻² s⁻¹)	0.35 ± 0.04b	0.64 ± 0.11a	0.77 ± 0.03a
V_cmax (μmol m⁻² s⁻¹)	29.00 ± 1.00a	32.00 ± 1.00a	32.67 ± 1.45a
C_i (μmol mol⁻¹)	251.89 ± 9.09b	273.94 ± 2.49a	281.20 ± 5.47a
G_s ( mol m⁻² s⁻¹)	0.144 ± 0.015b	0.232 ± 0.024a	0.292 ± 0.028a
T_r ( mmol m⁻² s⁻¹)	1.46 ± 0.09c	2.18 ± 0.17b	3.00 ± 0.30a
WUE (μmol CO₂ mmol H₂O⁻¹)	5.90 ± 0.31a	4.83 ± 0.09b	3.81 ± 0.37c

Amax, light- saturated photosynthetic rate; LCP, light compensate point; LSP, light saturate point; Rd, dark respiration rate; Vcmax, maximum rate of RuBP carboxylation; Gs, stomatal conductance; Ci, intercellur CO2 concentration; Tr, transpiration rate; WUE, photosynthetic water use efficiency. Different letters in the same row indicate statistical difference (p < 0.05).