Age structure in Liatris acidota (Compositae).

Ten populations of the perennial herb, Liatris acidota Engelm. & Gray (Compositae), growing on the Texas Gulf Coast (USA) were analyzed for age structure, frequency of predation, and frequency of asexual reproduction. Nine of the ten populations exhibited non-stable age distributions due to a deficiency of young non-seedling plants. Age structure was not related to levels of predation nor to the amount of asexual reproduction. Environmental perturdation is suggested as the cause of the observed deviation from a stable age distribution.