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 16 bamboo seedlings DHJanzen100407.jpg high resolution
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| Assuming that the local animals have not captured that mat of highly edible food (i.e., assuming that predator satiation has indeed occurred), the bamboo seeds germinate immediately and form a dense carpet of young plants. In contrast to a large bamboo clone, this mat of leaves is made up of thousands of individuals. And, they are all growing in the sun that now gets right down to ground level because their parents who used to occupy the area overhead are all dead and leafless. But, as in any area with many juveniles of large organisms, many more than the area can possibly support as adults, there is intense competition among them. This particular dense stand of seedlings is below the large adult plants in Panama in DHJanzen100403.jpg above. | ||
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